Into the Black Verse Pt 1: Family
by Blue-Five
Summary: Reimagining of Star Trek: Into Darkness Alpha/Omega AU (Kirk/McCoy)
1. Directive

**DISCLAIMER:** This is a work of fiction using characters from the Star Trek universe. I do not claim any ownership over them or any of the many Trek universes. This work is solely for entertainment purposes and is not considered canon (not by a long shot).

* * *

Leonard McCoy wasn't truly surprised when his best friend, James T. Kirk, approached him for dinner after the receiving both a commendation and his commission. After all, they'd been roommates and friends since coming to the Academy on a shuttle from Riverside, Iowa. The fact that Leonard was an omega and Jim was an alpha hadn't really figured into the equation much. They just _fit_. Leonard endured the seemingly endless stream of lovers through Jim's life and nursed his alpha friend through hangovers, split knuckles and broken noses. Jim made sure Leonard was safe during his heats and dragged the normally reserved omega out for nights on the town occasionally. It was a comfortable relationship that had never progressed farther than close friendship.

Jim took Leonard to a small hole-in-the-wall club that had a great blues ensemble. They took a booth in the back and had probably one of the best steaks Leonard had ever tasted. It was good enough that he was able to ignore his normal irritation over being flirted with by every unattached alpha that noticed him. A few attached ones tried their luck as well but Leonard just politely declined the offers and growled at Jim who always took great glee in his friend's grumpiness. The meal and music had been good. They'd laughed over good liquor and even a cigar or two. By the time they left, Leonard was pleasantly relaxed.

After they left the club, however, things took a decidedly odd turn — not that Leonard was about to complain. Pausing outside, Jim pushed his hands into his jacket pockets and looked up at the night sky. Leonard looked at him curiously and cocked one eyebrow.

"Jim?"

"Bones … I'm headed into the black soon. I want you with me," Jim said softly.

Leonard huffed a laugh. "No kidding … good thing I already put in my assignment request."

Jim smiled and ducked his head. "Yeah, figured you had. But I want … damn, I don't know how to say this."

Leonard frowned. "Usually just comin' out with it is the best policy, Jim. Since when do you have to be nervous about telling me anything?"

Jim sighed and met Leonard's hazel eyes with his blue ones. "Bones, I want you to be my omega."

Leonard blinked. Of all the things he'd expected from this evening, _this_ was not one of them. Dinner, drinks and maybe … _maybe_ sex if the stars aligned … but in all his dreamed scenarios, Leonard had never imagined Jim Kirk would be asking to lay claim to him.

"Jim … I —" Leonard cursed his sudden inability to form coherent sentences.

From the moment they'd met on that long-ago shuttle, Leonard had been drawn to Jim … along with the majority of people who interacted with the man. When Jim had requested to room with Leonard, the omega had briefly hoped but Jim's inherent appeal to members of both sexes had quickly quashed his dream of ever being Jim's. Instead, he'd focused on solidifying their friendship into something deep and lasting. It was enough … when Leonard could force his heart to heel to his head.

"Making me kinda nervous again, Bones," Jim said, interrupting Leonard's musings. "I — uh — well, if you're not interested …"

Leonard chuckled and looked out across the bay. "Not interested? Kid, I've never been anything _but _interested since we met. Why now? Why me?"

Jim smiled in his familiar way — the smile that invited you in and made you feel like you were the only thing in his world. Leonard tried to calm his suddenly pounding heart.

"Bones … it's always been you," Jim said softly. His hand came up to pull Leonard to him.

Leonard felt the lips he'd dreamed about when he wasn't forcing himself through multiple shifts at the medical center or struggling through a long night preparing for a test. They were just as soft as he'd imagined and just as insistent.

"Damn it, Jim …" Leonard whispered against his friend's mouth.

Jim chuckled and Leonard felt it all the way to his toes. "Sorry, Bones … I just really, really want _you_."

Foreheads pressed against one another, Leonard growled, "You've had _how many_ years to do this?"

"So I'm a little slow … you still haven't answered me, Bones," Jim murmured. "Will you be my omega?"

"Buckle up," Leonard said in response. Jim's smile was blinding.

* * *

A year later, _Enterprise _CMO Leonard McCoy had to question his own sanity and that of his alpha who just happened to be Captain James Kirk. How the hell a survey mission had morphed into a save-the-planet crisis leaving him standing with a leather-hided beast of burden with six-inch tusks was beyond him. The creature stomped impatiently as they waited for Jim to arrive. The shouts Leonard could hear echoing through the crimson forest were warning enough. Leonard held the reigns a little tighter and prepared to mount the thing as soon as Jim was close enough to make the leap onto the creature's back.

Of course Jim was unaware of Leonard's planning and simply ran up on the creature while trying to escape the enraged natives. He yelled in surprise as whatever the thing was reared up and roared at him. His phaser was out and firing before the thing's feet touched back down. It fell motionless to the ground. A blue-robed individual behind it pulled off its hood and revealed the familiar and handsome face of Jim's omega. Of course, the _expression_ on Leonard's face was also one that Jim was familiar with — complete exasperation.

"Damn it, man! That was our ride! You just stunned our ride!" Leonard yelled.

Jim pulled his own hood and face covering back and looked down at the limp beast with a grimace. "Oh great." Jim was saved a further tongue-lashing from his omega by the increasing volume of shouts coming from behind him. He saw Bones' eyes widen as yellow-clad natives carrying rather large spears began appearing through the foliage. "RUN!"

Dashing past Bones, Jim led the way through the forest focusing on an alternate plan. Leonard followed, hampered by the robe he was wearing.

"What the hell did you take?!" Leonard yelled.

"I don't know but they were all bowing to it!"

Leonard groaned. Leave it to Jim to zero in on what was probably the most sacred and precious item in existence to these people — the one they would kill over. He raced after his alpha and tried not to trip as he leapt over fallen trees and dodged through long hanging vines.

As he ran, Jim opened his comm. "Kirk to Shuttle One — locals are out of the kill zone! You're clear — repeat — Spock! Get in there and neutralize the volcano and let's get out of here!"

Leonard heard Spock asking Jim if the natives had seen them. "No, Mr. Spock they did not."

Spock continued quote regulations and Leonard cursed mentally at the Vulcan's insistence on clinging to procedure. "I know what the regulation says! Which is why I am running through the jungle wearing a disguise! Now drop off your super ice-cube and let's go! Kirk out!"

Bones grinned as he ran. His smile faded as a spear landed in front of him. He ducked another one and felt one strike the ground just behind him. "They're trying to kill us! They're trying to kill us, Jim!"

Jim winced at the fear in his omega's voice. He guessed telling Bones now that the shuttle wasn't going to pick them up would only make things considerably worse so he just kept running. From behind him came the sound of Bones' voice raised in confusion.

"Jim! Jim, the beach is that way!"

Jim did not alter his direction. "I know! We're not going to the beach!"

Leonard frowned and then realized where they _were_ headed. "No No No!" Once again, Leonard wondered to himself just exactly what the hell he'd been thinking when he accepted Jim's claim and collar. "I hate this!"

Jim glanced at his omega. "I know you do!"

Then they were both leaping off the cliff into the ocean below with echoing yells. Jim shucked his robe quickly and looked over to see Bones doing the same. He could almost feel his partner's anger through the chill water but he didn't have time to ponder it. Turning, they both activated their water jets and slid through the darkening waves to a familiar shape lying beneath them.

Entering through an airlock on the side of the ship, Bones and Jim held on to the handholds as the water vacated the lock. Tearing off his goggles, Jim grinned at Bones in a wet-suit. Bones rolled his eyes.

"Down, boy."

The interior hatch opened and Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott stood with an indignant expression on his face. "Do you know how ridiculous it is to hide a starship on the bottom of the ocean? We've been here since last night! The salt water is going to ruin —"

Jim stepped up to his engineer and interrupted the rant. "Scotty! Where's Spock?"

"Still in the volcano, sir."

Leonard saw the tension that gripped Jim's shoulders. His mate was protective of anyone he considered a friend … and whether or not the Vulcan science officer realized it, Jim counted him among the closest. Following him, Leonard and Scott raced down the _Enterprise_ corridors to the turbo-lifts. Jim gripped Leonard's shoulder in the lift and got a similar squeeze in return. Starfleet allowed mates to serve together, but public displays of affection were strictly taboo so they made do with what they could. After a year together, they could communicate more emotion in a single touch than most couples could in an entire conversation.

The lift doors opened and they all emerged onto the bridge. Jim scanned for Uhura.

"Lieutenant, do we have an open channel to Mr. Spock?"

Bones moved to his normal position beside the captain's chair as Uhura answered. "The heat's frying his comms but we still have contact." Uhura's eyes were filled with fear for her lover. Uhura was a beta but Spock's claim on her was no less binding than Jim's for Bones. Jim tried to give her a reassuring look and then turned to the navigation console and slapped the comm link.

"Spock!"

The response was faint with a steady muffled rumble behind it. "I have activated the device, Captain. When the countdown is complete, the reaction should render the volcano inert."

Bones growled from behind Jim. "Yeah, and that'll render _him_ inert!"

"Do we have use of the transporters?" Jim asked.

"Negative, sir." Sulu replied.

"Not with these magnetic fields," Chekov added.

Bones looked over to Uhura, her body language displaying her pain very clearly. He'd been in her position more than once with Jim and he knew the paralyzing fear that was no doubt closing around her heart.

"I need to beam Spock back to the ship. Give me one way to do it." Jim ordered.

Chekov frowned. "_Maybe_ if we had a direct line of sight … if we got closer …"

Scotty burst in, "Hold on, wee man! You're talking about an active volcano!" He looked up at Jim. "Sir, if that thing erupts I cannae guarantee we can withstand the heat!"

Sulu looked back. "I don't know if we can maintain that kind of altitude."

Bones listened as Jim's crew gave him logical and reasonable explanations why they couldn't bring Spock back on board safely. He could also see Jim's determination to do just that growing with every passing minute. He sighed. His mate was nothing if not focused when someone he cared about was in danger. It was a lot of the reason Bones loved him so deeply. For the sake of one man, Jim would move an entire planet if he had to.

Spock's voice came through the speakers again.

"Our shuttle was concealed by the ash cloud, but the _Enterprise_ is too large. If utilized in a rescue effort, it would be revealed to the indigenous species."

Jim let out an exasperated breath. "Spock, nobody knows the rules better than you, but there has got to be an exception!"

"None," Came the Vulcan's steady voice. "Such action violates the Prime Directive."

Bones growled and stalked up to stand beside Jim. "Shut up, Spock! We're trying to save you, damn it!"

"Doctor, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few," Spock intoned.

Jim yelled, "Spock, we're talking about your life!"

Bones winced. Jim's pain was radiating off him like a heatwave through the bond they shared. It was killing him seeing Jim so upset. Popular belief always had the omega as the one to be kept from distress but an omega's very nature was to nurture and comfort. To be unable to do so for his own alpha drove Bones to distraction sometimes but he couldn't chance it. Jim would not accept it and would probably be furious with him later.

"The rule cannot be broken …" Spock began but the comm shorted out.

Bones turned to see Uhura's face crumple. Jim turned to her. "Try to get him back online."

Uhura raced to her station and began flipping switches desperate to find the elusive frequency.

"Ninety seconds to detonations." Chekov announced.

Staring out the view-screen, Jim asked Bones, "If Spock were here and I were there, what would he do?"

Bones mulled over his response but he knew the answer too well. "He'd let you die." Bones said grimly.

_And then I would die,_ Bones thought darkly. He'd already realized that his life was tied irrevocably to Jim's. If he lost his mate, Bones knew he would most likely become one of a statistic — omegas who simply gave up.

Jim glanced at his CMO and mate. Bones' eyes were full of pain — pain for Spock's predicament and pain for Jim's conflict. He looked back at the screen and considered his options. There was only one decision he could possibly make if he wanted to sleep again in this lifetime.

"Sulu, bring us into transporter range," Jim ordered.

"Aye-aye, sir."

Bones stood beside Jim and watched the countdown overlayed on the view-screen. His hand absently went to his collar and he ran his fingers over the cool metal. Jim caught the motion out of the corner of his eye but did not look at Bones. He knew his mate had been in this very position more than once for his own actions. He made a mental note to apologize … _again_… for the pain he caused McCoy.

* * *

Racing into the transporter room, Jim looked at Spock on the pad still in his environment suit. Bones was right behind him.

"Spock! Are you alright?"

The Vulcan regarded Jim in disbelief. "Captain, you let them see our ship."

Bones rolled his eyes and gestured in disgust. "He's fine."

_Bridge to Captain Kirk, _Uhura's soft voice came over the comm.

"Yes, Lieutenant," Jim replied.

_Is Commander Spock on board, sir?_

"Safely and soundly."

Relief and building anger was evident in her tone. _Please notify him that his device has successfully detonated._

Bones did not envy Spock _that_ conversation. His self-sacrificing actions had just earned him a very _long_ discussion with his mate. Jim grinned and turned back to Spock.

"You hear that? Congratulations, Spock — you just saved the world."

"You violated the Prime Directive, Captain," Spock said sternly.

Jim rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, Spock. They saw us — big deal!"

* * *

Rolling over without breaking his thrust rhythm, Jim brought Bones into a kneeling position over him. Bones gripped the headboard to brace himself against Jim's steady assault into him. The lights of the Golden Gate bridge glowed softly just outside the apartment window.

"Bones … gods you feel so good … I'm …" Jim groaned as his hips began a staccato movement that meant he was close.

Bones sweat-damp hair hung down over his face as he thrust back to meet his mate's penetration.

"Don't stop, darlin' … don't stop … please …" Bones growled.

They'd learned how to time each other's releases and as Jim's back arched and he froze deep with Bones, the doctor let out a deep wavering moan and followed.

The aftershocks pulled a few more gasps out of Bones and he slowly sank down onto Jim who gladly accepted his omega's weight. His fingers ran along Bones' spine and then up to his neck and the collar.

Leonard shivered as Jim's fingers teased the skin along the edge of his collar. His cock twitched between them making Jim chuckle. Bones nipped his mate's shoulder in annoyance.

"Are you five?"

"Depends on what game we're playing," Jim teased. Bones grunted and rolled off his mate.

"I was drunk when I said yes, wasn't I?"

Jim grinned. "Sorry, Bones, you were in your right mind and now you're stuck with me." He punctuated his statement by leaning over to bite Bones' earlobe. He smiled when that got another of Bones' lovely groans. "You are hot, doc. Just plain hot."

Leonard hooked his leg around Jim's legs and pulled their bodies flush. Jim's eyebrows went up as he felt a significant stiffness between them. He growled and his blue eyes practically glowed. "Now that is _really_ hot, Bones …"

No sooner had Jim latched onto a nipple, his comm beeped. Jim's head came up and Bones moaned at the loss of contact.

"Damn it, Jim … are you really going to answer that?"

"Kirk here," Jim said after locating his comm buried among the sheets.

Bones flopped back to the mattress. "I guess so." He idly ran his fingers over his collar while he listened to the conversation.

When it was over, Jim stared at his comm for a few minutes and then looked over at Bones. "Why would Pike want to see me _and_ Spock?"

Leonard shrugged. He knew what Jim was thinking. "Maybe they've decided who's going to take that five-year mission. Who do you think it'll be?"

Jim's eyes narrowed and a mischievous glint filled them. "I think I need to remind you just exactly who your captain _and_ alpha are, doctor."

Bones smiled but his breathing had deepened as arousal began burning up his spine. "Oh really?"

"Yep," Jim said, returning the smile. His voice dropped an octave. "All fours, omega. Night's just gettin' started."

Bones groaned as the direct command from his alpha seared through his brain, triggering all sorts of chemical pleasure responses. It was, apparently, going to be a long evening.

_Not that I'm complaining,_ Bones said to whatever deity was listening as he assumed the position. _Nope, not at all._


	2. Despair

**DISCLAIMER:** This is a work of fiction using characters from the Star Trek universe. I do not claim any ownership over them or any of the many Trek universes. This work is solely for entertainment purposes and is not considered canon (not by a long shot).

* * *

Bones waited in the lobby for Jim's meeting with Admiral Pike to conclude. He watched the steady influx of individuals and smiled whenever he saw a collar like his own. Public sentiment still held that omegas were the 'life-bearers' and shouldn't be in such dangerous occupations as space exploration. He'd had to deal with those stereotypes all his life. Omegas nurtured. Alphas protected. Jim always teased that anyone who thought that had never seen Bones wield a hypo spray. Leonard smiled thinking about how excited his mate had been earlier that morning. Jim's eyes had been bright and his smile incandescent. Bones looked forward to hearing all about the mission. Leonard frowned when he noticed Spock leaving the building. He tried to ignore the uneasiness growing in his gut.

"Spock! Where's Jim?"

"He is still in conference with Admiral Pike," Spock replied quietly.

"So? What's the verdict? Is the _Enterprise_ going on the five-year?" Bones asked anxiously.

"I have not been informed of such, doctor," Spock said.

Bones' eyes narrowed.

"What _have_ you been informed of, Spock?"

Spock seemed to consider something before he replied. "I filed a report regarding the Nibiru incident that contradicted the Captain's log."

"You did _what?" _Leonard blurted. "How — how could you _do_ that? Jim saved your life!"

"As I have mentioned to the captain, I am very grateful but I have a responsibility to the —"

Leonard was suddenly directly in Spock's face. "You have no idea why he went against the Prime Directive, do you?" Bones growled.

"The mission did not go according to plan and he was attempting to correct —"

"Wrong." Leonard snarled. "My mate — your _captain — _put his career in jeopardy to bring you back in one piece and you _don't know why_."

"I am sorry, Doctor, I do not understand."

Leonard stepped back with a sound of disgust. "No, you don't. I hope you figure it out because then you might just understand what you've done." Leonard turned to walk away.

"Doctor, the disciplinary actions taken will be harsh but Captain Kirk will endure as he tends to do." Spock offered.

Leonard paused. Jim's emotions were suddenly pressing hard against their bond. "I hope you're right, Spock. Because if the anger, shame and betrayal I'm feeling from him now is any indication — the 'disciplinary actions' were a good deal more than harsh."

Bones went to the lifts without another glance back. Spock left, confused about human emotional vagaries.

* * *

Jim exited Pike's office and his head snapped around the second he caught scent of his omega. Bones stood, cap tucked beneath one arm, waiting for him. Jim gave a weak smile.

"Bones."

"Captain."

Jim winced and the shame that spiked through their bond made Bones' uneasiness grow. "Let's go home. Please."

Bones didn't say anything, he simply nodded. Jim did not say anything until they were in the apartment door and it was locked between them and the outside world. Walking to the bedroom, Jim began changing out of his uniform. Bones followed and did the same, but his gaze was on his alpha.

"They took her away from me, Bones," Jim finally said, t-shirt clutched in one hand. He looked up at Bones and his bright blue eyes were now dull and filled with a despair his mate had never seen.

Bones walked over to him and laid a hand on Jim's arm. "What? The _Enterprise_? But —"

"Yeah … Pike told me I'm being sent back to the Academy. I don't even know what that means, Bones. What am I going to do there?" Jim said, his voice fading as he continued. "Bones … Pike said … Pike said you'll have to wait a year before you can request a transfer from the _Enterprise._"

Bones blinked. "What? They can't separate us like that — we're mated!"

"I know … Pike knows. Admiral Marcus is — I fucked up, Bones. I really fucked up." Jim said, sinking down miserably. "Pike said I don't have any humility … that I don't respect the chair."

Bones knelt beside his mate and gently pulled him against his chest. "Pike and the rest of the admiralty can shove it — you did what you had to do, darlin'. You _always_ do what needs to be done and your own well-being be damned." Bones kissed the top of Jim's head. "It's why I love you so much."

Jim looked at Bones again. "I'm so sorry, Bones … I never meant … what am I going to do without you?"

Bones kissed Jim lightly and then more deeply, putting every ounce of love he could into the bond between them. Jim pulled back with a gasp. "It's a year, not eternity, Jim. It won't be easy but we'll manage. Unless you want me to resign my commission. I will in a heartbeat and you know it."

Jim looked at him and then Bones was being dragged back toward the bed. Clothes they'd only just changed into were removed hastily and Jim was entering Bones without preamble. The omega gasped at the sensation of his mate moving within him. It never failed to astonish Bones how powerful the connection between them was at times. Jim's lips brushed over the claiming mark and Bones groaned. Through a haze of arousal he realized that Jim was saying something.

"…don't deserve you, Bones … you should have chosen someone else … you should have …"

Leonard took Jim's face in his hands and forced his mate to meet his gaze. "I chose _you_, Jim … long before you ever gave me that mark. I wanted _you_. You think I didn't know what a pain in the ass you were going to be?" Jim's sad expression broke Leonard's heart. "Darlin', you are the best thing that ever came into my life … you will _always_ be the best thing in my life and no admiral is going to convince me otherwise."

Jim looked down at his omega and began to move again. He took his time, drawing sounds out of Bones that made him inch ever closer to release. He licked the skin edging the collar and reveled in the knowledge that the man writhing beneath him, begging him for completion was _his_… not just by biology. Bones was his — body, mind and soul. Jim came when he realized that he was tied the exact same way to Leonard.

* * *

Bones rolled over and watched Jim dress in the dark room. "Jim …"

"Go back to sleep, Bones. I need to get some air," Jim said softly.

Leonard pushed himself upright. "Give me a second, I'll go with —"

Jim silenced the man with a kiss. "No, Bones. I … I just need some time to think, ok? Promise I'll be back soon."

Bones nodded reluctantly. Then he frowned. "Come back with so much as a damn paper cut and I will kick your ass from here to New Vulcan."

Jim laughed. "I know you would, Bones." He kissed his lover deeply. "I love you so much, Bones."

"Ditto, kid."

* * *

Sitting in the bar, Jim threw back his scotch and stared at the bar top. He glanced over and noticed a woman — an attractive woman — regarding him with some interest. He smiled at her then regarded the ice in his glass. His pain was so deep right now he just wanted to fight or fuck — he swallowed hard at what he was considering and then decided he no longer cared. Knowing he could get her into bed with a few well-chosen words and a smile, Jim turned back to the woman, mouth open. His vision was suddenly blocked by none other than Pike.

"How did you find me?" Jim growled, grimacing at the man's appearance.

"I know you better than you think I do … I commed McCoy," Pike said with a sigh. He looked at the young woman walking out the door. "Although I can't say he'd be too thrilled with what I just saw."

Jim snorted. "You didn't see anything because you cock-blocked me before I could get anywhere."

"And you were contemplating destroying your bond with Leonard why, exactly?" Pike asked, motioning for two more drinks.

"He's going to realize what a fuck-up I am soon enough … why not make it official?" Jim groused.

"I see. You'll just fuck him over and move on? Just walk away?" Pike asked.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Jim muttered.

"That would be easier to believe if your hands weren't shaking the the mere _thought_ of losing McCoy," Pike observed. Jim clenched his fists, annoyed at the older man. "You can drop the disinterested act for now, Jim. I'm fully aware of how devoted you are to your omega."

They sat in silence for a few moments. Their drinks arrived and Pike said, "The first time I found you was in a dive like this. Remember that? You got your ass handed to you."

Jim frowned. "No I didn't."

"You didn't?"

"No … that's not what happened," Jim protested.

"That was an _epic_ beating," Pike teased.

"No it wasn't."

"You had napkins hanging out of your nose," Pike reminded Jim.

A smile broke over Jim's face and he chuckled. "Yeah … yeah, ok." Jim smiled at the memory. "Yeah, that was a good fight."

Pike sighed. "A good fight. You know, I think that's your problem right there."

Jim's smile faded. Bones had told him the same thing more than once. He looked over at Pike.

"They gave her back to me," the admiral said.

Jim didn't need to ask who 'she' was - it could only be the _Enterprise_. The only woman Jim had ever loved beside his mother regardless of his reputation. He nodded and exhaled slowly. His heart had broken when she'd been taken from him - when Pike had informed him that his mate was going to be taken from him as well, albeit temporarily, a crushing weight had settled in Jim's chest. He felt it keenly again.

"Congratulations," Jim said, taking his drink. "Watch your back with that First Officer, though."

"Spock's not going to be working with me. He's been transferred. _U.S.S. Bradbury_." Pike watched Jim's pause. "You're going to be my First Officer."

Jim looked over at the admiral, his blue eyes searching for some sign of deceit.

"Yeah, Marcus took some convincing — but every now and then I can make a good case," Pike said.

"What — what did you tell him?" Jim asked softly.

"The truth. That I believe in you - that if anybody deserves a second chance, it's Jim Kirk."

Jim looked away quickly and studied the far wall, blinking furiously. He looked back at Pike.

"I don't know what to say."

"Now that is a first. I'll have to let McCoy know." Pike smiled at Jim's quiet laugh. "It's going to be okay, son."

Pike's comm beeped and he glanced at it. "Emergency session. Daystrom. That's us."

Jim nodded. Pike clapped him on the back. "Go home and suit up." He paused. "Jim … don't take your bond for granted. Leonard gave up everything to accept your claim — don't make a fool of him. You know better than anyone what can happen out there in the black."

Jim smiled. "Thank you, sir."

* * *

Leonard was up and doing a little drinking of his own when he heard Jim's bike rumble into the garage. He looked up as his mate ran in and then he found himself on the receiving end of a kiss that left him more than a little breathless.

"I take it Pike found you," Bones smiled.

"I love you, Leonard Horatio McCoy." Jim whispered against his mate's lips.

Bones frowned but said, "I love you too, Jim. What —?"

"Emergency session, gotta get to Daystrom. You should probably be ready to move in case they scramble the fleet," Jim advised.

Bones watched his mate put on his dress grays and then he was out the door. Bones ran his hand lightly over the collar. He shivered but it was far from pleasant.

* * *

Jim Kirk mentally chastised himself as he fastened his collar on the run. He'd come very close to causing a rift of epic proportions between himself and Bones. His mate would never know but he would. Jim determined he'd never let himself get that low … or tempted again.

As he walked to the lifts, he noticed the increased security as guards stood with pulse rifles. He frowned and kept his eyes forward when a familiar voice assailed him.

"Captain," Spock called.

"Not anymore, Spock. First Officer." Jim said. He glanced at the Vulcan. "I was demoted and you were reassigned."

Spock nodded. "It is fortunate that the consequences were not more severe."

Jim sighed. "You've got to be kidding me …"

"Captain, it was never my intention —" Spock began.

"_Not_ Captain, Spock. I saved your life, you wrote a report, I lost my ship," Jim said.

The lift came to a halt and Jim walked out. Spock continued to talk.

"Commander, I see now I should have alerted you to the fact that I submitted the report," Spock offered.

"Spock, I am _familiar_ with your compulsion to follow the rules. But you see, I can't do that," Jim said. "Where I come from, if someone saves your life, you don't stab him in the back."

"Vulcans cannot lie," Spock said.

"Then I'm talking to the half-human part of you, alright?" Jim said. "Do you understand why I went back for you? From what Bones says, you don't."

They were interrupted by a captain approaching them. "Commander Spock? Frank Abbot, _U.S.S. Bradbury_. Guess you're with me."

Spock looked at him and then glanced to Kirk before replying. "Yes, Captain."

When Abbot departed, Jim looked at Spock calmly. "The truth is … I'm gonna miss you." Jim thought about what his acerbic mate would have to say about _that_.

When Spock said nothing, Jim sighed and left. He mentally kicked himself again for letting the situation drive him to a bar, first off and then to actually considering taking another to his bed. He sent a silent prayer of thanks to Pike for his timing.


	3. Disaster

**DISCLAIMER:** This is a work of fiction using characters from the Star Trek universe. I do not claim any ownership over them or any of the many Trek universes. This work is solely for entertainment purposes and is not considered canon (not by a long shot).

* * *

Admiral Alexander Marcus seated the gathered officers and began to explain what they were up against. Jim sat next to Pike. It was hard knowing that only that morning he'd been captain of the _Enterprise_. Now he was First Officer – he wondered vaguely if Pike was right. Did he truly not know humility? If he couldn't learn it, he was going to crash and burn in this position too. Jim thrust his random musings aside and forced himself to listen to the admiral.

"By now, some of you have heard what happened in London. The target was a Starfleet data archive...now it's a damn hole in the ground. Forty-two men and women are dead," Marcus said. "One hour ago, I received a message from a Starfleet officer, who confessed to carrying out this attack, that he was being forced to do it by this man — Commander John Harrison. He's one of our own and he _is _the man responsible for this act of savagery. For reasons unknown, John Harrison has declared a one-man war against Starfleet and under no circumstances are we to allow this man to escape Federation space. You here tonight represent the senior command of all the vessels in the region. And in the name of those we lost, you will _run this bastard down_. This is a manhunt pure and simple so let's get to work."

Jim frowned down at the file displayed before him. Something was nagging at him … something did not feel right and he couldn't put his finger on it. The images of the London destruction were horrific, but Jim kept widening the shots until he could zero in on Harrison's face. He couldn't believe how _calm_ the man appeared in the midst of such devastation.

Harrison was holding the handles to a large bag. Jim's eyebrows drew together and leaned over to Pike while gesturing at the image.

"What's in the bag?" he whispered.

"James, not now," Pike hissed.

Jim shook his head. "Doesn't it seem odd to you that he'd target an archive? That's like bombing a library!"

"Chris, everything ok there?" Marcus said softly.

Jim sighed as every eye focused on them.

"Yes sir, Mr. Kirk is just acclimating to his new position as First Officer," Pike said.

Jim sighed. Marcus looked over at him. "Something to say, Kirk? Speak up, tomorrow's too late."

Jim struggled internally with himself but decided to err on the side of reservation. He'd see how this conference went before he began insisting on his own viewpoint. He reigned himself in. "No sir, I'm fine."

Spock looked up with a slight frown. Marcus sighed.

"Spit it out, son. Don't be shy."

Kirk bit down the growl at Marcus calling him 'son' and gathered his thoughts.

"Why the archive? All that information is public record. If he really wanted to damage Starfleet … this could just be the beginning." Jim said.

"The beginning of what, Kirk?" Marcus asked.

"Sir, in the event of an attack, protocol mandates that senior command gather captains and first officers at Starfleet HQ right here in this room." Jim said, his voice fading as the implications of that settled in. The light in the room began to shift – to take on a reddish hue. Red like the indicators on a jump ship … small enough to get very close to a building without being noticed until it was too late. Jumping up, Jim looked out the long bay of windows and saw himself staring at just that. He turned back to the group with wide eyes.

"Clear the room!" Jim yelled, diving over the conference table. The world exploded around him in a hail of gunfire.

* * *

Bones gasped. The bond between himself and Jim was suddenly vibrating with focused energy. It wasn't fear … it was more the constant drive to survive that permeated Jim's entire body. He ran his hand over his collar as he sat in the back of the taxi. It was an unconscious gesture he'd started not long after mating Jim. He didn't know why but it gave him comfort … it grounded him particularly when he was stressed. And what he was feeling from his mate right now definitely had him stressed.

"I'm coming, Jim. I'm coming," Bones whispered.

* * *

Jim staggered down the corridor. Pike was dead. He heard sirens and screams and cries of people in pain, but none of it seemed real. His emotions were swirling and he couldn't seem to focus on one thought. Someone he cared about … no, loved — he'd loved Pike like the father he'd never known — was dead. Someone who'd believed in him so much he fought for him — stood up and said that Jim Kirk was worth another chance. Pike was dead.

Jim could still see the lifeless form of his friend and mentor sprawled out on the couch, Spock beside him. He didn't want to believe … didn't want to see the motionless chest … but he had to know. He'd desperately felt for a pulse, for any sign of life and there was nothing. Pike was dead. The hand that closed around his heart made it so very hard to breathe … the tears that flooded his sight made it so very hard to see. Pike was dead.

Jim stared out the shattered window at the emergency service jump ships that were beginning to arrive. He winced as a blinding spotlight played over the building. Pike was dead. Pike was dead. Pike was dead. The mantra simply would not stop playing through his mind. He was alone. Alone …

Turning, Jim continued dazedly down the corridor. He barely registered when he ran into someone.

His brain recognized the scent before it connected a name. It was a smell that meant safety … love … strength when he had none … omega …. Bones. It meant not being alone.

"Bones?" Jim whispered, his blue eyes focusing on his mate.

"I'm here, Jim. I'm here." Leonard said. He held Jim firmly by the shoulders, wishing that he could simply pull him into his embrace.

"Pike is dead." Jim said flatly.

Leonard pressed his hand to Jim's cheek. Jim leaned into the touch, pressing his jaw into the familiar touch. "Bones … stay … please …"

"I'm not going anywhere, darlin'. You have to talk to Starfleet … I have to go help with the injured. You call … I'll be right there … ok?" Leonard promised.

Jim nodded. Bones pressed a bottle of water into his hand. Jim smiled — leave it to his omega to anticipate his needs. Hell, even if they hadn't been mated – Bones was a doctor above almost anything else. He would always take care of people if he could.

Bones stepped back to put a little distance between them. He knew Jim well enough to know when his alpha needed comfort and when to let him stand on his own. Jim sighed and ran his hand over his face.

"Go on, Bones … I'll find Spock — we'll give our report," Jim said softly.

Leonard nodded. "Comm me when you're done."

Jim walked off to find the Vulcan leaving Bones to sigh and gather himself before heading to where he could be of most use.

"Bones!"

Leonard turned to see his alpha stalking toward him. "Jim …?"

Jim stopped in front of the omega … he didn't say anything, just pressed his palm over the left side of Leonard's chest. There, underneath Bones' uniform, was a scar that was an exact match to Jim's bite pattern. Leonard met Jim's eyes and saw a wide ocean of pain.

"Mine," Jim whispered. He wasn't alone.

Leonard nodded, confirming. "Yours."

Jim walked off again and his omega stood watching for a few moments before doing the same.

* * *

It was nearly two in the morning before they made it home again. Bones had arrived before his mate and he was waiting when the exhausted young man stumbled into the apartment. Leonard managed to get him undressed and put into the shower. Jim was still dazed … still had the thousand yard stare. Bones got some soup and tea into him before bundling him into bed and wrapping himself around the alpha. He simply murmured soft sounds of comfort as his alpha sobbed himself to sleep.

The next morning, nothing was said. Jim's silence as they dressed was painful but Jim had shown as much emotion over Pike's death as he was going to — if Bones pushed, he'd only anger his alpha. He handed Jim a cup of coffee and his comm when it beeped.

Jim took it and squeezed Bones' hand to let his omega know he appreciated what he was doing. Bones seemed to always know what he needed and when. Bones left the room but he heard Spock's voice clearly as he ran a brush over his uniform.

"Commander, Mr. Scott has found something in the wreckage of Harrison's ship. He has asked to see us right away."


	4. Disparate

**DISCLAIMER:** This is a work of fiction using characters from the Star Trek universe. I do not claim any ownership over them or any of the many Trek universes. This work is solely for entertainment purposes and is not considered canon (not by a long shot).

* * *

"Admiral, sir … he's not on Earth. He's on Qo'nos, sir," Jim announced as he ran into the conference room where Marcus and the admiralty were meeting to discuss next moves. He did not pause but plowed ahead — he wanted this mission. "I request that my command be reinstated and your permission to go after him."

Marcus regarded the determined young man before him and then looked at the others. "Give us a minute."

Walking to the other side of the room, Marcus mused, "So … Harrison's gone to the Klingon home world. Is he defecting?"

Jim shook his head. "We're not sure, sir."

"He has taken refuge in the Ketha province, a region uninhabited for decades," Spock added.

Jim's impatience won out over diplomacy. "Sir, he has to be hiding there! He knows if we even go near Klingon space, it would be war. Starfleet can't go after him, but I can."

_Bones is gonna kill me, _Jim thought.

Marcus frowned and regarded a display of ships — from the Wright brother's plane to a new ship configuration that Jim had never seen before. "All out war with the Klingons is inevitable, Mr. Kirk. If you ask me … it's already begun." Marcus walked down the line of models. "Since we first learned of their existence, the Klingon Empire has conquered and occupied two planets that we know of and fired on our ships half a dozen times. They are coming our way."

Marcus turned back to regard the two officers. "London was not an archive. It was a top-secret branch of Starfleet designated Section 31. They were developing defense technology and training our officers to gather intelligence on the Klingons and other potential enemy who means to do us harm. Harrison was one of our top agents."

Jim's frown deepened. "Now he's a fugitive and I want to take him out."

Marcus seemed amused. "Pike always said you were one of our best and brightest. You should have heard him defend you."

Jim's heart constricted as he thought of the man who'd given him every chance he'd ever had to better himself.

"He's the one who talked you into joining Starfleet, isn't he?"

"Yes sir." Jim said softly.

"Did he ever tell you who talked _him_ into joining?" Marcus asked.

Jim stared. "Sir?"

Marcus looked remorseful. "His death is on me. Yours can't be, son. After all, you have an omega to consider, don't you?"

Jim's blue eyes blazed. "I do, sir, but if you'll just – "

"Mr. Spock," Marcus said, ignoring Jim's building ire. "You said the province where Harrison is hiding is uninhabited?"

"Affirmative, sir," Spock replied.

Marcus looked at both men, debating something internally. Jim wanted to yell and demand the right to seek and destroy Pike's killer. He'd never resented being mated … until now. If his mating kept him from this mission, Jim did not know what he would do.

Even as he had the thought, his stomach flipped. Jim knew he loved Bones and would not trade their relationship for anything. It did little to alleviate his frustration and anxiousness. Pulling his thoughts back to Marcus, Jim watched as the older man called up a schematics display.

"31 developed a new type of photon torpedo. Long-range and untraceable — it would be invisible to Klingon sensors." Marcus met Jim's gaze. "I don't want you hurt, but I want to take him out. You park on the edge of the Neutral Zone, you lock onto Harrison's position. You kill him and you haul ass."

Jim looked steadily back at Marcus, relief flooding his brain. "Permission to reinstate Mr. Spock as my First Officer."

Spock looked at Jim, incredulous.

"Granted."

* * *

Hours later, Jim was in uniform and heading to the shuttle to return to the _Enterprise. _He felt focused if a little uneasy about his orders.

"Jim!"

Jim turned to see his omega running over. "Where were you?"

"For what?" Jim asked, knowing full well the question.

"Your medical exam – you were in a damn firefight less than 10 hours ago – now it's my duty as ship's –"

"Bones, I'm fine."

Leonard stopped Jim. "The _hell_ you are." Bones hissed.

Jim paused and waited until no one was near. "Doctor, I'm _fine."_

Blue eyes met hazel ones and the two men stared one another down. Jim's blue eyes did not waver and Bones finally dropped his. Jim turned and walked up the ramp leading into the shuttle. Bones pursed his lips and followed. It wasn't often Jim went "alpha" on Bones. Leonard had noticed that since meeting with Marcus and regaining his command, Jim had been on edge and their bond had thrummed with anticipation and not a little uncertainty.

Settling in behind Jim, Leonard decided he was going to do what scans he could on his captain and alpha. Intent on the data displayed on his padd, Bones nearly missed Spock's comment about long-range torpedoes.

"What? Wait a minute … we're firing torpedoes at the Klingons?" Leonard asked.

Kirk's low growl silenced Leonard and Spock continued. "Regulations aside, this action is morally wrong."

"Regulations aside, pulling your ass out of a volcano was morally _right._ I didn't win any points for that," Kirk snapped.

Bones murmured, "Whoa, Jim … calm down."

"Bones, I'm not going to take ethics lessons from a robot!" Jim said fiercely.

Bones winced at his mate's tone. The alpha was definitely pushing through Jim's control. His irritation with the situation was bleeding into their bond. Pike's death had affected Jim far deeper than Leonard had suspected.

"Reverting to name calling suggests that you are defensive and therefore find my opinion valid," Spock said softly.

"I wasn't _asking _for your opinion," Jim stated before snarling, "Bones, get that thing _off _my face."

Bones frowned again and sat back, checking his readings and extrapolating where he could. As he did so, Leonard caught an unusual spike of attraction from Jim that made him look up. A very pretty blonde stood in front of Jim introducing herself in a lovely lilting British accent.

"Captain Kirk — Science Officer Wallace. I've been assigned to the _Enterprise_ by Admiral Marcus."

Bones complained sometimes about Jim's possessive streak that tended to make him growl at any random alpha saying 'hello' to Leonard whenever they were on shore leave. He really didn't mind … Leonard found it a turn-on. At the moment, however, Bones thought that perhaps he understood Jim's motivations and perhaps they weren't unreasonable after all. It took all of his control not to put himself between Carol Wallace and his mate. His instincts were telling him to make damn sure she understood he wasn't about to share his alpha with some twig of a Beta half Leonard's age. He did not miss the considering look she gave him when Jim signed her on board and allowed her to sit between himself and Spock. Bones stared at his padd data without really seeing it.

As the shuttle took off, Jim made small talk with the new science officer. This was nothing new … Leonard knew Jim was a flirt and always would be – his alpha always came home to him. Commander Wallace, however, was putting out her own attraction pheromones and Bones had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from growling. Betas had the weakest scents but that didn't mean they couldn't attract a mate when so driven. Jim's scent was responding which had Leonard's stomach in knots - surely Jim was aware of his omega's distress? His actions couldn't be on purpose … could they?

Usually, during shuttle flights, Bones would reach out along their bond to reassure himself. Jim would send a wave of comfort along the link and smile at his mate in a way that made Leonard forget — however briefly — that only a thin layer of metal stood between himself and obliteration. Today there was no smile and the bond sat empty between them. A cold weight settled in Leonard's heart. He held onto the armrests and tried to control his panic and his growing uneasiness for the remainder of the flight.

After disembarking aboard the Enterprise, Bones waited not so patiently while Jim argued with Scotty. Today was apparently an off-the-rails day – he'd never seen Jim argue with any of his crew so fervently. It hurt to watch. Afterward, as Jim headed to follow Scotty, Bones tried one last time to intercept him.

"Jim, your vitals are way off –"

Jim's frustration with Scotty drove him to anger and he rounded on his mate before he could reign himself in. "Back off, omega - report to the med bay."

All expression fled from Bones' face. The command in Jim's voice went straight to his subconscious and he was moving away from the alpha before he realized what he was doing. A dark frown settled between Leonard's eyes.

"Aye, aye … _alpha_," Bones snarled.

Jim sighed and started to apologize but Leonard gave him no opportunity. He stalked off, weaving angrily between crew members. Jim groaned. He did not have time to chase his mate down to apologize and yet he knew that's what he needed to do.

Leonard _loathed _alphas that abused the involuntary responses of an omega. Jim had witnessed it happen to Leonard once at the Academy and his friend hadn't spoken to him or any alpha for a week afterward. Jim made every effort not to cross the line except in mutually enjoyable situations. After all, it was Bones' independent nature and outright stubbornness that had attracted Jim from the start – his mate was no delicate flower of an omega and Jim loved that. Bones would tell him in no uncertain terms what he thought about any given subject. It was exactly what he'd been doing now – trying to get Jim to calm down so he could think and operate clearly in the mission ahead. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Fucking omega bitch-fits," Jim cursed under his breath.

The sharp inhale behind him made Jim's heart fall into his boots. He turned to see Bones standing just behind him. The look of hurt that flitted across his mate's face was quickly replaced by a dark cloud of anger. "Sorry to bother you again … _captain_. I'll just be in medical."

"Bones …"

Leonard looked at his mate and Jim could see the rage burning behind the hazel eyes. "Don't even _try_, Jim. Go run your ship with the pretty new science officer."

Jim winced as the bond between them went eerily silent. His day just kept getting better.

* * *

Jim pressed two fingers between his eyes. A steadily growing headache was blossoming into a full-fledged migraine. His chief engineer and close friend had just resigned, Keenser had accompanied him and Spock had him doubting what had, up until the shuttle flight, been a very clear-cut mission. Add to that Bones' justifiable anger and his day was over before it truly began.

_Kirk, thy name is idiot. _Jim thought miserably as he replayed his thoughtless comment earlier.

To refer to an omega as a 'bitch' was a near unforgiveable insult. Jim wondered if Bones was ever going to forgive him – worse, he wondered if Bones actually _believed_ Jim thought about him that way. Caught up in self-recrimination, Jim didn't notice Uhura fall into step beside him until she spoke.

"I was so sorry to hear about Admiral Pike, captain."

Jim nodded absently. "We all are."

"Are you okay?"

Jim sighed. "Fine, thank you Lieutenant." He could hear Bones' saying, _The __hell__ you are._

The beta made a disbelieving sound as they entered the turbo lift. Jim sighed again.

"Actually … Scotty just quit and I made a mess of things with Bones." Jim said softly. "Your boyfriend is also second-guessing me every chance he gets."

Jim paused and glanced over at Uhura. He shook his head.

_Get your act together, Kirk … you're still __captain__ ._

"I'm sorry … that was inappropriate." Jim said. "It's just that sometimes I want to rip the … _bangs_ off his forehead …"

_Bangs? Really? God, Bones would be –_ Jim winced remembering the hurt in Leonard's eyes at Jim's comment.

"Maybe it's just me," Jim said tiredly. After today's events he was beginning to think he might be the problem for a great many things.

"It's not you," Uhura said softly.

Jim looked over at her. He recognized the dismay on her face and body language – he probably mirrored it right now.

"Wait … are you two fighting?" Jim asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it, captain," Uhura replied unhappily.

Jim blinked. His own fights with Bones were not pretty – this latest one was shaping up to be very ugly indeed – but he had no idea how you had a fight with someone who showed no emotion and was hardwired to consider everything 'logically'. Jim thought he'd rather chew glass.

"Oh my gods … what is that even _like_?" Jim asked just as the turbo lift came to a halt.

Spock was waiting just outside the lift when the doors slid open. He blinked and regarded Uhura and Jim. Their body language indicated that he was probably the topic of conversation and not in a complimentary way based on how quickly they fell silent. Uhura reinforced this suspicion when she stepped out with no glance at Spock and went directly to her station. Jim watched amused and followed her, his own irritation getting the better of him.

"Ears burning?" Jim snarked as he walked past.

Spock watched his captain walk to his chair and wondered if he was ever going to understand the humans he served with and cared about. He was grateful Vulcans had long lifespans … Spock had a feeling it would take the better part of his existence.

* * *

In medical, Bones' staff was giving him a wide berth as they went about their normal tasks of prepping for the mission ahead. Leonard's dark visage and curt responses told his team something was seriously wrong between the CMO and his captain.

Bones' knew he wasn't being fair to those around him and that he shouldn't be allowing his personal issues to affect his professional life. It didn't ease the crushing sensation in his chest that made every breath hard to take. It didn't ease the blurring of his vision by damnable wetness. In fact, knowing that he wasn't being reasonable did absolutely nothing but make him feel worse about everything.

Leonard had been called 'omega bitch' before – the name was nothing new. Ignorance bred ignorance and while he'd grown up in the more _genteel _South, there was no shortage of morons who thought they were witty. 'Knot-slut' and 'breeder' were two other favorites for the Neanderthals he'd endured in his lifetime.

The pain came because he'd never heard Jim use that sort of language before. Jim had treated him no differently from any other cadet when they'd met even after he'd learned of Bones' designation. It had been refreshing not to be either the object of uninvited lust or unwanted coddling.

Bones took off his collar and stared at it. It was a smooth titanium band with a hidden lock to preserve the continuous look – nothing too overt. It hadn't been off Leonard's neck more than a handful of times since the night Jim gave it to him. Bones knew it was the stress Jim was under. Somewhere in the back of his mind he _knew_ his mate hadn't meant the cruel words nor did Jim truly think that way – but right now the pain was too raw and his anger too real for him to apply damnable logic to the situation.

Placing the collar in his desk, Leonard locked the drawer and went back out into sickbay to perform one last inspection before they went to warp. He tried to ignore the stares and also how very naked and alone he felt.

"Damn it, Jim," Bones said softly.


	5. Decision

**DISCLAIMER:** This is a work of fiction using characters from the Star Trek universe. I do not claim any ownership over them or any of the many Trek universes. This work is solely for entertainment purposes and is not considered canon (not by a long shot).

* * *

_I just promoted an 18-year-old to Chief Engineer … _Jim thought to himself.

He could hear his mate's grousing already. With a faint smile, Jim pressed against the bond between himself and Bones and was dismayed to find it still silent. He forced his thoughts back to the matter at hand. He was captain of the Enterprise, he didn't have the luxury of moping. Unfortunately, without the familiarity of Bones' presence in their link, Jim felt oddly unsettled and unsure of his path. He could only hope his omega would be paying attention to his announcement.

"Retract all moorings, Mr. Sulu," Jim ordered. He pressed the comm. "Status Mr. Chekov?"

All systems nominal, Captain. Warp available at your command, Came the response.

"Thank you, Mr. Chekov," Jim said. "All right, let's ride."

Jim felt the ship vibrate around him as she prepared to go to warp. Bones insisted it was his imagination, but Jim knew his lady … he knew when she was just as anxious as him to embark on a new journey, a new adventure. She, like Jim, did not do well in idleness. Jim watched the stars stretch out into streams of light and he exhaled, glancing to his side out of habit. His shoulders fell when his mate was not there.

"Channel open, sir," Uhura said.

Jim cleared his throat and addressed his crew. Whenever he gave the ship-wide announcements, he always pictured Bones as the only person listening. It calmed him … had calmed him since his first announcement as acting captain when he'd been scared witless at making an error. Today was no different.

"Attention, crew of the Enterprise … as most of you know, Christopher Pike, former captain of this ship and our friend … is dead. The man who killed him has fled our system and is hiding on the Klingon home world … somewhere he believes we are unwilling to go. We are on our way there now." Jim said.

* * *

Bones looked up as Jim's voice traveled through the ship. He sighed. Jim's voice was steady and full of the confidence people expected from a starship captain. It radiated the command ability Leonard had always known existed in the young alpha despite his past. It was a voice that inspired the people around him to push past their imagined limitations and be better than they believed themselves to be. Bones shook his head ruefully and walked back to his office. Opening the desk, he took out the collar and lay it on his blotter. He stared at it while Jim continued to talk.

* * *

"Per Admiral Marcus, it is essential that our presence go undetected. Tensions between the Klingon Empire and the Federation have been high … provocation could lead to war." Jim paused and glanced back at Spock before continuing. "I will personally lead a landing party to an abandoned city on the surface of Qo'noS where we will capture the fugitive, John Harrison and return him to Earth to face judgment for his actions. We will get this son of a bitch. Kirk out."

* * *

Bones exhaled, his rage dissipating somewhat. His mate … his infuriating, self-sacrificing, noble mate … was going to attempt a suicidal retrieval attempt to bring Harrison back to Earth. Bones was equal parts worried, angry and proud. He ran his hand over the smooth metal of the collar and pursed his lips.

_Lord knows I didn't expect an easy ride when I submitted to your claim, kid, but God-almighty you're gonna be the end of me yet!_ Bones thought to himself.

Leonard knew that _normal_ or _simple_ were two words that were never going to apply to Jim Kirk. And, truthfully, he wouldn't love the bastard so much if he _was_ like everyone else … and Leonard _did_ love him. So much it scared the hell out of him some days.

Bones muttered about "omegas hormonal surges" while he opened the collar and slipped it back around his neck. Locking it carefully, Bones enjoyed the slight but reassuring weight. It was calming and he felt tension bleed out of his frame. Jim wasn't far from wrong – he was bound to his alpha come hell or high water. He just hoped they didn't kill each other first.

* * *

Jim looked up as Spock approached his chair.

"Captain, I believe that you have made the correct decision. If I can be of assistance, I would be happy to accompany you on the away team," Spock said.

Jim gave the Vulcan a tight smile. "You? Happy?"

Spock regarded him impassively. "I was simply using your vernacular to convey an idea."

"Thank you, Mr. Spock," Jim said softly.

Spock nodded. He turned to go to his station then paused. "Captain, I notice that Dr. McCoy is not on the bridge."

Jim gave another faint smile. "He is not, Mr. Spock. I intend to address that issue."

Spock gave him a short nod. "A wise course of action, captain." In the year he'd known Jim as captain, Spock had also come to know Dr. McCoy as not only CMO, but as Jim's mate. Were they Vulcan, they would have been _t'hy'la_ ... if they had been Betazoid, they would be _imzadi_ – regardless of the concept, Spock knew James Kirk and Leonard McCoy belonged with one another and were at their best when of the same mind. He hoped they would rectify their differences soon. He could not explain it, but Spock felt ill at ease with this mission and he suspected the captain was going to need a great deal of support through it.

Jim stared down at the comm switch. He ran the pad of his index finger over it.

_This is stupid ... I'm the captain of the flagship of the 'Fleet! And I can't even work up the nerve to comm my own CMO! Fuck ... Bones ..._

"Now I am just a simple doctor, but even I know you actually have to push the button for it to work," a familiar voice teased.

Jim smiled and looked up to see Bones standing beside his chair. "Dr. McCoy ... good to see you."

"Captain."

"Bones, I -"

Leonard sighed. He pressed his hand on Jim's shoulder and walked back to where he usually stood on the bridge while at warp – just behind the railing. Jim exhaled the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Bones was still upset but Jim knew now they would work it out like they always did – he hadn't fucked everything up. It was more of a relief than Jim had believed it would be.

* * *

Bones studied the back of his mate's head … the line of his shoulders … the grip of his hands on the chair arms ... Jim was on edge … worse than even after he'd relieved Spock as captain over a year ago during the _Narada_ incident. Bones exhaled softly and stared at the deck. If he was honest with himself, he wanted nothing more than to massage that steel bar out of Jim's neck. Pride and anger warred in his heart over how to deal with the situation – then he was too busy trying not to fly over the railing as the ship slammed to a sudden halt and fell out of warp.

* * *

Leonard shook his head as he listened to Jim talking to Chekov.

"Mr. Chekov, did you break my ship?"

_Sorry sir! I don_ _'t know what happened! The core overheated — I had to activate the emergency stop. It must be a coolant leak — I need time to find it._

Jim cursed softly. "Mr. Sulu, time to our destination?"

"Twenty minutes, sir — but that's twenty minutes in enemy space we weren't counting on," Sulu replied.

Jim sighed. "Alright, we better hop to it."

Turning, Jim frowned. "Where's Spock?"

Spock walked up quickly. "Here, Captain."

"You're coming with me to Qo'noS." Looking over at Uhura, Jim asked, "Lieutenant, how's your Klingon?"

"It's rusty, but it's good," Uhura replied.

"Good, you're coming too," Jim ordered. He regarded the pair for a moment. "This isn't going to be an issue, is it? Working together?"

"Absolutely not," Uhura said shortly. With a glance at Spock she walked away.

Spock regarded her retreating form with what had to be the Vulcan equivalent of dread. He looked at the captain.

"Unclear."

Jim sighed. "I'll meet you both in the shuttle bay."

Bones watched Spock walk off before moving to face his captain. "Jim … you're not actually going down there, are you?"

Jim regarded Bones steadily, grateful that the omega was at least keeping his disagreement quiet. He could feel the tension beginning to filter through their bond.

Leonard cocked an eyebrow. "You don't rob a bank when the getaway car has a flat tire."

Jim's lips quirked. Whenever Bones was stressed or angry, his Southern colloquialisms tended to come out. Reaching over, Jim punched the comm button and addressed Chekov.

"I'm sure engineering will have us all patched up by the time we get back — isn't that right, Mr. Chekov?" Jim met Bones' eyes when the young officer gave a shaky affirmative. He turned. "Mr. Sulu, you have the conn. Once we're en route, I want you to send a targeted comm burst to Harrison's location. Tell him you have a bunch of real big torpedoes pointed at his head and if he doesn't play nice you're not afraid to use them."

Leonard watched as Sulu paled slightly. He knew what the man was feeling — Jim had a way of asking people to go above and beyond what they thought they could do and no one ever wanted to let him down.

"That isn't going to be a problem, is it?"

"No, sir," Sulu replied. "I've just never sat in the chair before."

"You'll do great," Jim said with a reassuring smile.

Bones blinked and then moved after his mate who was heading off the bridge.

"Jim, wait!" Leonard hissed. Jim turned back to his omega with an impatient expression. "You just sat that man down at a high-stakes poker game with no cards and told him to bluff — damn it, Jim! Sulu is a good man but he is no captain." Leonard protested. He was on edge and could hear his drawl becoming more pronounced.

"For the next two hours he is," Jim said softly. "Mr. Sulu, make sure that K'normian ship is ready to fly. And Bones? Lay off the metaphors, would you?"

* * *

Bones followed Jim back to their quarters and stood by as his mate changed into the disguise he would be wearing on Qo'noS. Jim gave him a faint smile as he pulled on a black leather jacket to complete the outfit.

"Bones, every alpha on the ship is going to be able to smell your nerves," Jim teased.

Leonard frowned. "I'm only concerned that _one_ alpha knows how I feel about this mission."

Jim stepped up to his mate and gently ran his thumb down Leonard's jawline. "Bones, you can't wrap me in cotton wool for every mission. We _have _to do this."

Jim's scent was beginning to override Leonard's rational thought process. He sighed and brushed a stray lock of hair back from the alpha's forehead. "I'm not ten, Jim, I _do_ know what's required of a starship captain. Doesn't mean I have to like the thought of my mate going after a murderer in hostile territory under false identity. If this thing goes south, Starfleet will disavow you completely."

Jim brushed his lips against Leonard's. "I know, Bones. Guess you'll have to come rescue me then."

Jim was surprised at the sudden flare that shot through his omega's scent. "Do not underestimate just how pissed off I will be if they lay one filthy Klingon finger on you, Jim."

"I love it when you get all "protective omega", Bones," Jim said huskily.

Leonard rolled his eyes and shoved his mate gently away. "Down, boy," Bones said with no real malice. "Just … for God's sake be careful, Jim."

Pulling an unresisting McCoy into a hard and thorough kiss, Jim promised his mate he would do his best to stay out of harm's way. He ran his fingertips along the collar and then he was gone, leaving Leonard to gather his wits and make his way back to the bridge.


	6. Clandestine

**DISCLAIMER:** This is a work of fiction using characters from the Star Trek universe. I do not claim any ownership over them or any of the many Trek universes. This work is solely for entertainment purposes and is not considered canon (not by a long shot).

* * *

Leonard stood quietly on the bridge. He felt a familiar shiver when Kirk's voice came over the comm link.

_Just like a damn teenager with a crush on my first alpha, _Bones thought.

"Mr. Sulu, I think we found our man. You let him know you mean business," Jim said.

"Aye, Captain," Sulu replied. Pressing the frequency, Sulu spoke clearly and firmly. "Attention, John Harrison. This is Captain Hikaru Sulu of the _U.S.S. Enterprise_. A team of highly trained officers is on its way to your location. If you do not surrender to them immediately, I will unleash the entire payload of advanced long-range torpedoes currently locked onto your location. You have two minutes to confirm your compliance. Refusal to do so will result in your obliteration. If you test me, you will fail."

Bones cocked an eyebrow as the young alpha delivered the ultimatum with a good deal more confidence than he'd displayed when Jim had originally given him the conn. Leonard gave Sulu an appraising look.

"Mr. Sulu," Bones said. "Remind me to never piss you off."

Bones ran his fingers over his collar again – he was never going to get used to wondering if _this_ mission was the one Jim didn't come back from. He crossed his arms over his chest and followed their signal as it moved toward Qo'noS and John Harrison.

* * *

"We will arrive at Harrison's location in three minutes, Captain," Spock said. "It is unlikely that he will come willingly."

_No shit,_ Jim thought with amusement. _I wouldn't._

Spock continued. "I calculate the odds of him attempting to kill us at 91.6%."

"Fantastic," Jim muttered.

_Sorry about this one, Bones … but you knew I had to come._

Lost in his own thoughts, Jim almost missed Uhura's snide comment to Spock. "Good thing you don't care about dying."

Jim blinked. _And here we go …_

Spock frowned and turned toward Uhura's station. "I am sorry, Lieutenant. I could not hear what you said."

"I didn't say anything," Uhura said shortly.

Jim waited, hoping that would be an end to it. But when the Beta's very pissed off scent hit him, he knew it was anything but done.

"Actually," Uhura said. "I would be happy to speak if you would be willing to listen."

"Guys …" Jim started.

"Lieutenant, I would prefer to discuss this in private."

"No!" Uhura snapped. "You'd _prefer_ not to discuss it at all!"

Spock continued unperturbed. "Our current circumstances — "

"Uh, are you two really gonna do this right now?" Jim asked.

"I'm sorry, Captain. Just two seconds." Uhura said curtly.

Jim sighed and looked out the view screen. He'd had enough face to face _discussions_ with Bones to know when to just keep his head down.

"At that volcano, you didn't give a thought to us. What it would do to me if you died, Spock," Uhura said, her voice breaking. "You didn't feel anything. You didn't care."

Jim stared at the controls of the ship. He'd heard this argument once — only once — from Bones not long after he'd taken command of the _Enterprise_. In yet another stellar example of his thoughtlessness, Jim had angrily ordered - with a command from an alpha to his omega - Bones to drop it. Jim was going to do whatever it took to do his job and do it well. The retort had silenced the omega and ended the verbal fight - Leonard had accepted Jim's apologies later, but Kirk knew he'd hurt his mate deeply.

Not four days later, Bones unintentionally made his point. The doctor disregarded his own safety and protocol to enter an emergency venting situation, refusing to let a collapsed ensign die. Leonard succeeded in dragging the young man out but only after giving him Leonard's own mask. Jim would never forget watching his mate stagger out into the corridor seconds before the section locked down. He'd collapsed, bleeding from the eyes and gasping for air. The caustic fumes seared Leonard's lungs and McCoy's well-trained and skilled team barely managed one of the miracles the man himself was famous for – Jim had struggled to push himself through his duties during those long days.

The accident forced Jim see how his cavalier attitude about danger and dying affected his mate. Bones would never ask him to be anything other than James Tiberius Kirk, a fact for which he was eternally grateful. What Bones needed and what Jim now tried very hard to provide - was an acknowledgement that he understood what his death would mean to the omega.

_I know you hate this, Bones. I know you hate it more than I'll ever understand … but thanks for loving me anyway, _Jim thought. He didn't deserve Leonard but he wasn't going to leave him without a fight.

* * *

Bones sighed. It was hard not being able to hear what was happening on board the small ship. Every nerve in his body was thrumming with the urge to push against the bond between himself and his mate. Sulu glanced up at him.

"How do you manage to look so calm, Dr. McCoy?" Sulu asked quietly.

Leonard frowned at the view screen and then looked at the acting captain. "I'm from the South, Mr. Sulu … we _invented_ the bluff."

Sulu smiled. "I hope my omega will be as understanding … whenever I claim one, that is."

Bones cocked an eyebrow. "Any potential candidates in mind, Mr. Sulu?" He had an idea what cherub-faced omega had the alpha's eye.

Sulu gave a tight smile that revealed little. "Perhaps … any words of wisdom to make my suit successful?"

Leonard considered. "You plannin' on having your own ship someday, Hikaru?"

"Yes," Sulu answered promptly.

"Present your claim when you well and truly understand why Commander Spock's little attempt at a noble sacrifice on Nibiru just about killed Lieutenant Uhura. If you know what your claim actually means out here in the black, I doubt there's an omega alive who would turn down a chance to wear your collar, Mr. Sulu." Bones finished softly.

"I'll remember that. And … thank you, Dr. McCoy," Sulu said. "Can I ask - ?"

Leonard smiled. "Neither of us had a clue, Mr. Sulu – we sure as hell know now."

Sulu returned the smile. Leonard turned back to the screen feeling a little more settled. It didn't last long. His heart went into his throat when the ship's signal winked out.

"What happened?" Sulu barked at helm.

"I don't know sir, we just lost their signal. We're trying to get it back."

_Yeah, I'm never going to get used to __this__, _Leonard thought as he stared at the view screen helpless to do anything but wait.


	7. Captured

**DISCLAIMER:** This is a work of fiction using characters from the Star Trek universe. I do not claim any ownership over them or any of the many Trek universes. This work is solely for entertainment purposes and is not considered canon (not by a long shot).

* * *

Jim grunted as the blast impact made the entire ship shudder.

"What the hell was that?" Jim barked, immediately going into evasive maneuvers.

Spock studied his readouts. "We are being pursued by a D-4 class Klingon vessel."

"I thought this sector was abandoned," Jim protested.

"It must be a random patrol," Uhura ventured.

_Of course it is because that's the way these things __always__ go for me, _Jim thought.

"Hold on!" Jim called as he pushed the ship into a dive.

"Captain, this ship has no offensive capabilities," Spock warned.

"It's got _us_, Spock. Give me all six fuel cells," Jim replied.

Jim was grateful that McCoy was not on this particular mission. His omega would _not_ enjoy the flying that was about to follow. Using a combination of instrument and visual flying, Jim dove into a maze of collapsed ruins covering the surface. Beams crisscrossed the air in front of him and he wove his way over and under them, trusting his instincts as he always did.

"They're closing fast, bearing 285!" Uhura announced.

Jim scanned the area ahead of them and spotted what he was looking for – a narrow crevasse between two structures.

"There! We can lose them there!" Jim yelled, aiming the ship for it.

Spock's back was to Jim so the captain did not see his science officer's eyes widen. "If you are suggesting that we utilize the passage ... the ship will not fit."

Jim clenched his jaw. "We'll fit."

"Captain, we will not fit." Spock insisted.

Jim was too far gone into his zone to pay much attention to Spock but he yelled "We'll fit!" even as he turned the craft on its side and slid between the buildings.

* * *

Bones gripped the railing on the bridge of the _Enterprise_ as a horrible wave of vertigo and ... _exhilaration_? ... crashed into the bond he shared with Jim.

_I don't even want to know, Jim ... I don't even want to know._

* * *

Jim exhaled as they emerged a little worse for wear but intact. "See? I told you we'd fit."

"I am not sure that qualifies," Spock retorted.

_Spoilsport,_ Jim smirked to himself.

They continued on into the bowels of the debris and they did not see any pursuit.

"Any sign of them?" Jim asked.

"No, which worries me." Uhura responded.

_What is it with you two? _Jim thought with a frown.

"Maybe we just lost them," Jim offered.

"Or they're jamming our scanners," Uhura corrected.

"Or ... We. Lost. Them." Jim said hopefully.

Unfortunately, Jim was forced to admit he was woefully incorrect when they came out into a void and he was forced to pull up short in front of three Klingon war-birds. Bathing the ship in floodlight, a voice began making an announcement in the harsh grate of Klingon.

"They're ordering us to land," Uhura translated. She turned with pursed lips. "Captain, they're going to want to know why we're here. They'll torture us, question us and then they're going to kill us."

Jim frowned. He ran over the possibility that they could survive a Klingon torture chamber ... then he felt concern leaking through the bond between himself and his mate. _Bones. _His mind immediately went to the only viable option for escape.

"Then we come out shooting," Jim said grimly.

_I won't go down easy, Bones. Promise you that._

Turning, Jim realized Uhura was standing next to his chair. "We're outnumbered, outgunned – there's no way we survive if we attack first. You brought me here because I speak Klingon. Let me speak Klingon."

Jim considered and made his decision. He landed the ship.

* * *

Watching Uhura walk out to stand toe to toe with a Klingon nearly twice her size, Kirk had to smile.

"She should have been an alpha, Spock," Jim murmured as he set his phaser.

"An opinion she has shared with me often," the Vulcan replied.

Jim chuckled but his humor fled as he read the body language of the Klingon shift abruptly. The warrior's hand snapped out, gripping her by the chin. Jim's entire body tensed and he was heading out the door of the vessel before the rest of his brain caught up to him. He blinked as pulse rifle fire cut the air and several of the Klingons. A hooded figure stood on an upraised pile of rock, a pulse rifle in one hand and what appeared to be a full laser cannon in the other. Jim and the others scattered to cover.

* * *

The battle was fierce and Jim spent most of it trying not to get killed and watching the man known as John Harrison decimate every Klingon he sighted. The grace and raw power in his movements was intoxicating. Jim had no idea how Harrison was moving so fast and anticipating shots so accurately. The cannon took down a war-bird and the Klingons that managed to deploy were dispatched in quick succession. Not one shot found Harrison. When the last Klingon lay dead on the ground, Harrison tossed aside his laser cannon and approached Jim, Spock and Uhura with his rifle trained on them. Spock held a rifle taken from one of the Klingons.

"Stand down." Spock ordered.

"How many torpedoes?" Harrison asked, walking up to the group.

"Stand down!" Spock barked.

Harrison shot the rifle out of Spock's hand, startling them all.

"The torpedoes, the ones you threatened me with in your message ... how many are there?"

"Seventy-two," Spock replied to Harrison's question.

The man stared at them in shock and then he abruptly tossed the rifle to one side and said, "I surrender."

Spock retrieved the pulse rifle and aimed it directly at John Harrison while powering it up. Jim pushed painfully to his feet and glared at Harrison. Rage unlike anything he'd ever felt was building inside him, threatening to boil over. His eyes narrowed and every sense seemed to zero in on the killer in front of him.

"On behalf of Christopher Pike, my friend ... I accept your surrender," Jim growled, blue eyes sparking fiercely.

* * *

Bones swallowed hard. His hands gripped the railing as he fought the emotion pushing against the bond. Alpha rage. White-hot and blinding, it was a phenomenon rarely seen in an age where omegas weren't claimed by battle. Leonard had only witnessed the aftermath of rage episodes – his trauma center residency had offered him plenty of opportunity to view firsthand the damage an enraged alpha could cause. Bones knew that only something very powerful could have tipped his mate over the edge of control and he did not envy who or what was on the receiving end.

* * *

Jim's fist struck Harrison's jaw. The adrenaline surging through his body prevented him from feeling the pain of the strike. Much to his consternation, Harrison did not seem overly affected. Jim delivered another hit and then another. Harrison looked almost amused but he did not buckle beneath the onslaught. Grabbing the other man by the neck, Jim drove his knee repeatedly into his midsection. When there was still little reaction, Jim snarled in anger and grabbed Harrison's hair before sending blow after blow into the smug face.

Uhura watched her captain and friend lose control. It broke her heart because she knew the reason behind it ... Pike. Jim's expression was that of a man lost in grief and anger. Finally, she could take no more.

"Captain!"

Jim blinked. Uhura's desperate cry had broken through the crimson haze filling his vision. He stood shakily before Harrison, staring at the man as if they'd only just met. The dark eyes narrowed and with a taunting smile, Harrison said, "_Captain, is it?"_

Jim's vision flashed red again when he felt something faint insistently nudging at his bond. A very solid, warm presence demanded his attention. Jim could almost picture his omega glaring at him, arms crossed over his chest and the familiar scowl pulling his brows down. The red faded and Jim could see Harrison clearly again. The urge to spill blood ... to rend and tear with his teeth ... faded to a dull buzz in his mind. With one last growl, Jim turned his back on the fugitive – now prisoner – and snapped, "Cuff him."

* * *

Spock walked with Kirk behind the five man security team escorting Harrison to the brig. Jim turned to Uhura.

"Lieutenant, contact Starfleet, let them know we have Harrison in custody and we'll be on our way once the warp core is repaired."

"Yes sir," she replied.

Jim opened his comm and sent a quick message before heading to his ready room. It would take the team approximately 25 minutes to escort and secure the prisoner. He sped up his walk.

* * *

Twelve minutes later, Bones murmured, "Welcome back, darlin' ... how was _your_ day?"

Jim sighed and pressed a kiss against the back of his mate's neck. The minute he'd entered his ready room, he'd found Bones already there with his kit at hand, expecting to patch his captain up. Instead, Jim had pressed the lock sequence to the door, torn off his jacket and stalked across the room to the startled, then exceedingly compliant omega. It had taken only minutes to remove only what was necessary to reach one another before Jim was flipping Bones around and bending him over the desk. Leonard's body responded immediately to his alpha and a faint gasp was the only sound the doctor made when Jim entered him.

It had been hard and fast but exactly what Jim needed. His release triggered Leonard's and they came together, whispering soft endearments to one another. Jim's rage stayed at bay. After a quick shower, they both changed into the fresh uniforms that were conveniently kept handy. Jim sent a mental thank you to his yeoman for attention to detail. It had been 23 minutes.

* * *

Walking to the brig beside Bones, Jim mentally prepared himself to face the man who'd taken Pike from him and leveled a good part of London.

"Why the hell did he surrender?" Bones asked.

"I don't know," Jim said. "But Spock and I watched him take out a squad of Klingons single-handed – I want to know how."

Bones nodded and they entered the brig and walked up to Harrison's cell. Jim and Spock stood to one side while Bones activated the access portal on the cell's front barrier. The minute the portal widened at Bones' command, John Harrison's scent wafted out. Leonard was momentarily dazed by it. He blinked and forced himself to do his job. Behind him, Jim frowned.

"Put your arm through the hole. I'm going to take a blood sample." Bones said, fighting to keep his voice level.

Harrison did so and Leonard took his arm to steady it before pressing the sampling unit against the man's skin. It was very nearly his undoing. Harrison's gaze narrowed and he regarded Leonard with a faint smile.

"An omega? What an intriguing choice for a doctor – I would suppose your nurturing instincts make you quite good at your job," Harrison murmured.

Bones kept his eyes on the unit and said nothing. The heat coming off Harrison's skin was intoxicating and McCoy had to mentally recite the bones of the human hand to stay focused. He breathed through his mouth to try and mitigate the pheromones but it did little to assist. John Harrison was the strongest alpha Leonard had ever been near. Only the steady – and now anger/jealousy-infused – presence of his mating bond with Jim kept him in control. Everything about Harrison was making his body respond in a way to make him appealing to the alpha – disconcerting Leonard deeply.

_Damn omega wet dream with that fucking __voice__ ... God what does he sound like when he – _McCoy shook off the unbidden thought and swallowed hard. _What the hell was __that__?!_

Harrison looked amused but his expression when he regarded Jim was somber.

"Why aren't we moving, captain?" Harrison asked. "An unexpected malfunction ... perhaps in your warp core? Conveniently stranding you on the edge of Klingon space?"

Leonard looked up from the blood draw with a frown. "How the hell could you know that?"

"_Bones_," Jim growled.

McCoy stiffened. He could hear the underlying "we're gonna talk about this later" in Jim's tone and he knew his alpha had picked up on his involuntary pheromone spike. He sighed and continued to draw blood.

"I think you'd find my insight valuable ... _Captain_," Harrison murmured.

The sample taken, Bones released Harrison's arm and gestured for him to retract the limb. Closing the access portal, Leonard looked back at Jim.

"We good, Doctor?" Jim asked, his blue eyes intent.

"Absolutely," McCoy responded firmly.

"Let me know what you find out."

"Yes, sir."

The three men turned to leave the brig when Harrison spoke again.

"Ignore me and you will get everyone on this ship killed."

Jim froze, Bones and Spock flanking him. He could feel the rage beginning to build again. After scenting his mate's obvious attraction to the man, Jim was feeling even less understanding than on the planet. He stood, eyes darkening and his breathing deepening.

Spock spoke softly. "Captain, I believe he will only attempt to manipulate you. I would not recommend engaging the prisoner further."

"Jim, Spock's right – he's just gonna push your buttons again." Leonard whispered.

Jim glared at his mate, his anger flaring. Bones dropped his eyes. His omega response to Harrison was involuntary, not emotional and sure as hell not welcome – but Leonard knew trying to explain anything to an alpha on the verge of a full-blown rage was useless. He changed tactics.

"Alpha, _please_ ... listen to your first officer. I don't want Harrison to hurt you."

Jim's shoulders relaxed slightly. Bones had deliberately modulated the tone of his voice – softening it, making it pleading and submissive. He'd tilted his head slightly to one side, letting his collar show to indicate his willing possession and symbolically showing his throat to the dominant male.

Jim was well-aware of what his mate was doing – and he was grateful. He took a deep breath and let the rage fade. He was still furious, but in control.

"Just give me a minute," Kirk said.

Spock nodded and walked out of the detention area. Bones met Jim's eyes briefly and the alpha saw concern flashing there – along with a surge of fear that Jim was truly angry with him.

"Go, Bones," Jim said softly.

Leonard sighed and left. Jim took another deep breath and then stalked back to the cell. He faced Harrison who turned to face the barrier, squaring his shoulders. If Jim had ever slightly doubted Harrison was an alpha, those doubts disappeared. The two males faced off, the instinctual battle for dominance radiating from their frames.

"Let me explain what's happening here," Jim growled. "You are a criminal. I watched you murder innocent men and women. I was authorized to _end_ you! The only reason you are still alive is because I am _allowing_ itso _Shut. Your. Mouth."_

Harrison's mouth quirked and he _tsked_. "Oh Captain, are you going to punch me again ... over and over until your arm weakens? Clearly you want to, so tell me ... why did you allow me to live?"

"We all make mistakes," Jim snarled.

"No ... I surrendered to you because – despite your attempt to convince me otherwise – you seem to have a conscience, Mr. Kirk. If you did not, then it would be impossible to convince you of the truth," Harrison said. "Two, three ... one, seven ... four, six ... one ... one. Coordinates not far from Earth. If you want to know why I did what I did, go and take a look."

"Give me one reason why I should listen to you," Kirk demanded.

Harrison's face became impassive. "I can give you seventy-two and they're all on your ship, Captain – they have been all along. I suggest you open one up."


	8. Close-call

**DISCLAIMER:** This is a work of fiction using characters from the Star Trek universe. I do not claim any ownership over them or any of the many Trek universes. This work is solely for entertainment purposes and is not considered canon (not by a long shot).

* * *

Jim stared down at his comm. He'd just had a frustrating but hopefully productive conversation with his former chief engineer, Montgomery Scott. Scotty's resignation still stung – Jim hoped after this mission he'd be able to persuade the man to rejoin the crew of the _Enterprise_. With a sigh, he headed for the bridge.

* * *

"Are you out of your corn-fed mind?" Bones snapped. "You're not actually going to listen to this guy, are you? He killed Pike and he almost killed _you_. Now you think it's a good idea to just pop open a torpedo because he dared you to?!"

Jim listened to his omega rant – Bones' scent was back to normal now but Jim couldn't forget the spike he'd picked up on during the brig interrogation.

"Why did he save our lives, Bones?" Jim asked quietly.

"The doctor does have a point, Captain," Spock said.

Bones frowned. "Don't agree with me, Spock, it makes me very uncomfortable."

"Perhaps you too should learn to govern your emotions, Doctor," Spock said reasonably. "In this situation, logic dictates ..."

Bones' eyes darkened with anger. Jim almost laughed – he'd teased about it before, but watched his mate go into 'protective omega' mode was little short of awesome. In this case, he was worried about the entire crew.

"Logic? There's a maniac trying to make us blow up our own damn ship and -"

"That's not it, Bones!" Jim said, exasperated. "I don't know why he surrendered, but that's not it."

Leonard pursed his lips. Jim's mind was made up if his scent was anything to go by. A moment later, the captain confirmed it.

"Look, we're going to open a torpedo – the question is how," Jim said.

Bones looked up. "Jim, without Mr. Scott on board, who exactly is qualified to just pop open a four-ton stick of dynamite?"

"The admiral's daughter appeared to have interest in the torpedoes and she is a weapon's specialist. Perhaps she could be of some use," Spock offered.

Jim and Bones looked over with the same confused expression. Jim blinked. "Admiral's daughter? _What_ admiral's daughter?"

"Carol Marcus. Your new science officer concealed her identity to board the ship."

Jim frowned. "And when were you going to tell me that?" He was really getting tired of surprises today.

"When it became relevant ... as it just did," Spock replied.

Bones could have sworn the Vulcan looked ... _smug_.

* * *

Jim had never seen anyone with more frenetic energy than Carol Marcus. She matched him stride for stride as they walked to the shuttle bay.

"Are the torpedoes in the weapons bay?" She asked.

"Loaded and ready to fire," Jim replied. "What are they?"

Carol frowned. "I don't know, that's why I forged my transfer onto your ship to find out why." The beta turned suddenly. "I do apologize for that ... I'm sorry if I caused you any problems."

Jim read the same body language that he'd seen on the shuttle previously. Carol was focused on the task at hand, but she was also working another possible angle. Jim mentally kicked himself. He'd hated the sick feeling in his gut when he'd picked up on Bones' attraction to Harrison. He could only imagine how unhappy Bones' had been on the transfer flight from Earth when he'd been _deliberately_ responding to had been nothing more than petulant anger.

_Bones is right ... I __am__ five some days,_ Jim thought ruefully.

"Let's just deal with one issue at a time, Dr. Marcus ... the torpedoes?" Jim said with an easy smile. He carefully restrained his response to her pheromones by concentrating on his bond. He felt a familiar calmness settle in him that he hadn't felt since they'd arrived back on Earth after Nibiru. Which, of course, made him feel worse about the way he'd been treating his mate. Carol was still explaining her reasoning for coming on board and Jim forced himself to listen.

"My father gave me access to every program he oversaw, then I heard he was developing these prototype torpedoes. When I went to confront him about it, he wouldn't even see me. That's when I discovered the torpedoes had disappeared from all official records."

"He gave them to me," Jim mused.

"You're much more clever than your reputation suggests, Captain Kirk," Carol said with a smile.

"I have a reputation?" Jim asked as he followed her into the shuttle.

"Yes, you do. I'm a friend of Christine Chapel's."

Jim racked his mind for anything that might help him figure out who that was but nothing came to him. Bones probably knew – he knew most of Jim's past liaisons better than the alpha himself did. He decided to play along and see if he could glean information.

"Christine, yes ... how is she?"

"Much better now, she transferred to the outer frontier to be a nurse," Carol said.

"Um, that's good," Jim replied.

"You have no idea who I'm talking about, do you?" Carol said with a faint grin.

Jim blinked. _Enough of this._

"I've been sort of busy the past year or so ... why are we in here, Dr. Marcus?" Jim glanced around the shuttle interior.

"Is this shuttle prepped to fly?"

Jim frowned. "Of course it is."

"Would you please turn around?" Carol asked as she drew out a small case.

"Why?"

"Just _turn around_."

Jim did so, not understanding what was going on and feeling distinctly uneasy about that. He heard Carol moving behind him and she continued to talk.

"It's too dangerous to try and open one of these torpedoes on the _Enterprise _but there is a nearby planetoid. I can open one up there but I will need some help," Carol said.

Jim scented a sudden spike from the beta and sighed to himself. _Damn it._

Turning, he found Carol standing in a black bra and panties. There was a time when that would have definitely drawn a different response from him. Right now it only annoyed him that she was being so bold. Carol looked affronted.

"Turn around ... _now," _Carol ordered.

_Save me from bossy betas,_ Jim thought as he turned around. Carol's body language and scent were telling him he'd better make his position clear.

"Dr. Marcus ... I have a mate – you've met Dr. McCoy."

"Yes ... I wondered. You weren't exactly acting the part on the transfer," Carol said smoothly. "In fact, your scent said something entirely different."

Jim turned at that, not caring if the beta was dressed or not – although he was grateful she was. "Dr. Marcus, my relationship with my mate is my own business. You should understand this much, though – I am absolutely devoted to him and it will be a very cold day in hell before I relinquish my claim."

"Of course, Captain." Carol said.

Jim wondered why the hell he'd let this annoying woman on board.

* * *

"Mr. Sulu! Have Doctors Marcus and McCoy landed on the planetoid yet?" Kirk asked as he walked onto the bridge.

"Yes, sir," Sulu replied. "They're moving the torpedo into position now."

"Good," Jim said. "Any activity from the Klingons?"

"Not yet," Sulu replied. "But if we stay here much longer they _will_ find us."

"Lieutenant Uhura, did you let Starfleet know we have Harrison in custody?"

"Yes, captain. No response yet."

Jim stood at the view screen and tried to picture his mate down on the surface. He frowned. Something wasn't right about this situation nor about the lack of response from Starfleet. His thoughts were interrupted by Chekov over the comm-link.

"Engineering to Bridge … hello, captain, can you hear me?" Chekov asked.

Jim pressed the comm. "Mr. Chekov, give me some good news."

"We found the leak, sir, but the damage is substantial. We are working on it." Chekov reported.

"Any idea what caused it?" Jim moved back to his captain's chair.

"No sir … but I accept full responsibility," Chekov said earnestly.

Jim's mouth quirked then his expression was serious again. "Something tells me it wasn't your fault. Stay on it."

Sulu glanced over his shoulder. "Shuttle is standing by, sir."

Jim inhaled deeply. His little interlude with Carol Marcus was still bothering him. What was happening between himself and Bones? In the rational part of his mind, Jim knew that Harrison's particularly strong pheromones had triggered Bones physical response. The not-so-rational part, however, kept asking him why had Bones not backed off the minute he felt himself losing control. But then again, why had Jim allowed himself to be drawn into an attraction trap of his own with Marcus on the shuttle to the _Enterprise? _Back and forth the thoughts drifted through his head, none of them comforting. Jim pushed the doubts to the back of his mind and opened the line to Bones down on the planetoid.

"Bones, thanks for helping out," Jim said with a faint smile. "Dr. Marcus asked for the steadiest hands on the ship."

He'd hated asking his mate to help the woman but her expertise was exactly what they needed right now ... and personal experience notwithstanding, Jim knew Bones could work miracles with his hands under the worst conditions.

Bones picked up an equipment box and walked out of the shuttle before replying to his captain. Leonard was tired. He didn't know what was happening between himself and his mate. Everything they did seemed to set the other one off. After the moment in Jim's ready room, Bones had believed they were working back toward equal footing. Then Harrison had nearly thrown Jim into a rage and now McCoy was stuck on a rock in space with a woman who had rather obvious designs on his mate. Leonard decided he wasn't above a little light teasing to get back at his mate.

"You know, when I dreamt about being stuck on a deserted planet with a gorgeous woman, there was no torpedo!"Bones snarked. He knew Jim's possessive instinct would be flaring after that comment.

"Dr. McCoy," Jim said steadily. "May I remind you that you are not there to _flirt_."

Bones grinned. Bulls-eye. "So how can these legendary hands help you, Dr. Marcus?"

"Bones ..." Jim growled.

Bones knew exactly how to rile him up sometimes but Jim could feel the humor through their bond and he relaxed.

Carol set her equipment down. "To understand how powerful these weapons are, we need to open the warhead. To do that, we need to access the fuel compartment." She began attaching scanners to the device. "Unfortunately for us, the warheads on these weapons are live."

Bones rolled his eyes at the doctor's attempt to 'warn' him of the danger. It wasn't as though he hadn't already reviewed the data she'd managed to glean so far. Bones had no intention of going out in a blaze of glory from a random wire cut.

"Sweetheart," Bones began.

Jim's jaw clenched at the endearment. His omega was pushing his sense of humor a bit today.

Bones continued. "I once did an emergency C-section on a pregnant Gorn. Octuplets. Let me tell you those little bastards can bite. I think I'll be able to work some magic on your missile."

Sulu glanced back at the captain with an amused grin. Jim looked fondly exasperated at his mate's antics. Sulu decided then and there he wanted what the captain and the doctor had between them.

"Doctor McCoy," Carol's voice came primly over the comm. "There's a bundle of fiber optic cables against the inner casing. You'll need to cut the 23rd wire down. Whatever you do, do not touch anything else. Do you understand?"

"Right," Bones replied. "The thought never crossed my mind." Leonard took the cutter and slid his hand into the console.

Carol adjusted her scanner. "Dr. McCoy, wait for my word. I'm rerouting the detonation processor."

Jim fought the urge to grip the arms of his captain's chair. The bond between them was silent but deliberately so – Bones had to concentrate and Jim wasn't about to distract him.

"Are you ready?" Dr. Marcus asked.

"And raring," was Bones' reply.

"Good luck," Carol said.

The next sound that came across the comm made Jim's heart slam against his ribcage. Bones' cried out in pain and Sulu's console began alarming.

"Sir, the torpedo just armed itself — the warhead will detonate in 30 seconds, sir!"

"What the hell happened?" Bones yelled. "I can't get my arm out!"

Jim was white-knuckling the chair now. Turning, he barked at Spock. "Target their signal. Beam them back right now!"

"Captain, the transporter cannot differentiate between Dr. McCoy and the torpedo. We cannot beam back one without the other." Spock said, standing beside Jim.

_**Bones ...**_

"Dr. Marcus, can you disarm it?" Jim growled. If this woman was the reason he lost his mate, Jim knew he would never forgive himself ... or her.

"I'm trying," Carol said her voice tense. "I'm trying."

"Jim! Get her the hell out of here!" Bones demanded.

_**Jim ...**_

"No! If you beam me back, he dies! Just let me do it!" Carol cried.

Jim swallowed as a flood of emotion — fear, but mostly love — hit the bond. And a typical stern insistence only Bones was capable of – even now, the omega wanted others safe.

_**Bones **_**... **

Bones began a verbal countdown trying to force Jim into beaming Carol to safety. "Ten. Nine …"

_**Jim ...**_

"Standing by to transport Dr. Marcus on your order, sir," Sulu said.

Jim looked at the helmsman and then back at the screen. He knew the order he had to give — the one that would cost him everything – the order that would condemn Bones to die.

_**My mate ...**_

"Eight. Seven. Six. Five …" Bones kept counting aloud.

_**My mate ...**_

"Four. Three —" Bones broke off counting as Carol tore the control module out of the missile and the door slid open, releasing Bones to fall back against the ground.

"Deactivation successful, Captain," Spock said.

Jim sagged forward against the helm. He took a long and very shaky breath before speaking again.

"Dr. McCoy, are you alright?" Jim asked tensely.

Bones was staring down at the torpedo in shock. Dr. Marcus was beside him with an equal look. Jim swallowed when no response came to his hail.

"Bones!" Jim pushed all the desperate fear he was feeling into the bond.

"Jim?" McCoy said hoarsely, rubbing his arm and sending back calm assurance that he was alright. "You're gonna want to see this."


	9. Confrontation

**DISCLAIMER:** This is a work of fiction using characters from the Star Trek universe. I do not claim any ownership over them or any of the many Trek universes. This work is solely for entertainment purposes and is not considered canon (not by a long shot).

* * *

Jim would never be sure how he managed to keep his voice level as he entered sickbay and asked, "What've we got?"

Bones had changed into his scrubs and was scanning the torpedo that had nearly taken his life. He looked up and met Jim's eyes – the bond was humming with his mate's emotions. He pushed back gently, letting his mate know he was really alright. Jim began to gradually calm.

"It's quite clever, actually," Carol Marcus explained, oblivious to the exchange between the captain and the doctor. "This fuel container's been removed from the torpedo and retrofitted to hide this cryotube."

Jim approached the torpedo and looked down at the figure encased in frost.

"Is he alive?" Jim asked.

Bones nodded. "He's alive, but if we try to revive him without the proper sequencing, it could kill him. This technology – it's beyond me."

"How advanced, Doctor?" Spock asked.

"It isn't advanced," Carol broke in. "That cryotube is ancient."

"We haven't needed to freeze anyone since we developed warp capability," Bones explained. "Which explains the most interesting thing about our friend here - he's 300 years old."

Jim met Spock's eyes and they were heading back to the brig. Jim called over his shoulder, "Glad you're in one piece, Bones."

Bones chuckled to himself as the door slid shut and a wave of love surged through the bond. "Me too, kid."

* * *

Jim and Spock walked directly to Harrison's cell. The man sat ramrod straight and looked up only when they were standing in front of him.

"Why is there a man in that torpedo?" Jim asked, slightly out of breath from the run.

"There are men and women in _all_ those torpedoes. I put them there." Harrison replied evenly.

Kirk and Spock shared a look.

"Who the hell are you?" Jim asked.

"A remnant of a time long past," Harrison said quietly. "Genetically engineered to be superior so as to lead others to peace in a world at war. But we were condemned as criminals, forced into exile. For centuries we slept, hoping that when we awoke, things would be different." Harrison sighed. "But as a result of the destruction of Vulcan, your Starfleet began to aggressively search distant quadrants of space. My ship was found adrift. I alone was revived."

Jim frowned. "I looked up John Harrison. Up until a year ago, he didn't exist."

"John Harrison was a fiction created the moment I was awoken by your Admiral Marcus to help him advance his cause. A smokescreen to conceal my true identity – my name is _Khan_."

"Why would a Starfleet admiral ask a 300-year old frozen man for help?" Jim asked softly.

"Because I am ... better," Khan replied.

"At what?"

"Everything." Khan sneered. "Alexander Marcus needed to respond to an uncivilized threat in a civilized time and for that he needed a warrior's mind. _My_ mind. To design weapons and warships."

"You are suggesting the Admiral violated every regulation he vowed to uphold simply because he wanted to exploit your intellect," Spock countered.

"He wanted to exploit my savagery. Intellect alone is useless in a fight, Mr. Spock," Khan said like he was explaining something to a child. "You – you can't even break a rule. How can you be expected to break _bone_? Marcus used me to design weapons – to help him realize his vision of a militarized Starfleet. He sent you to use those weapons, Captain Kirk, to fire my torpedoes on an unsuspecting planet." Khan paced for a moment before facing Jim again. "And then he purposely crippled your ship in enemy space, leading to one inevitable outcome: the Klingons would come searching for whomever was responsible and you would have no chance for escape. Marcus would finally have the war he talked about ... the war he always wanted."

Jim shook his head angrily. "No. No, I watched you open fire on a room full of_ unarmed_ Starfleet officers. You killed them in cold blood!"

Khan ducked his head ... he looked almost – ashamed?

"Marcus took my crew from me!" Khan said, turning away.

"You are a murderer!" Jim yelled.

Staring at the back wall of the cell, Khan's voice came out hoarse and pained. "He used my friends to control me. I _tried_ to smuggle them to safety by concealing them in the very weapons I had designed ... but I was discovered. I had no choice but to escape alone. And when I did, I had _every reason _to suspect that Marcus had killed every single one of the people I hold _most dear_. So I responded in kind." Khan turned back to face the officers, tears staining his face. "My crew _is_ my family, Kirk. Is there anything you would not do for your family?"

Jim met Khan's eyes and his mind flashed immediately to Bones ... but then the realization hit him – he would do everything and anything for _all _the men and women who served under him. His omega had known that about him since the beginning, had known that he would always come in behind the ship and the crew. And he'd said yes to Jim's claim anyway.

_Bones ..._

An alert chime broke into Jim's thoughts.

"_Proximity alert, captain. There's a ship at warp heading right for us." _Sulu advised.

"Klingons?" Jim asked.

"At warp?" Khan offered. "No, Kirk. We both know who it is."

Sulu's voice continued. _"I don't think so, captain. It's not coming at us from Qo'noS."_

Kirk stared at Khan and turned to run to the bridge. He barked at the security officer manning the brig control console. "Lieutenant, move Khan to med bay. Post six security officers on him."

* * *

Leonard's head came up when Khan entered sickbay with his contingent of security officers. He mentally cursed, he hadn't had time to deal with the after-effects of Khan's rather potent alpha pheromones. Running his fingers over his collar, Bones directed the alpha to a nearby bed. The security officers fanned out for optimal coverage. Leonard sighed.

_I feel safer already. Thanks so much, Jim._

"Ah, the omega doctor," Khan said silkily.

McCoy gave a non-committal grunt and ran his tricorder over the alpha.

"Come now, surely we can be civil to one another?" Khan teased.

"You'll have to forgive my reluctance to be ... _civil_ ... to a killer," Bones muttered.

"As your good captain is learning, things are not always what they seem, doctor."

Bones said nothing. He wanted to crawl out of his skin – the alpha's influence was no less potent now than it had been in the brig.

"Sweet, omega ... do you find yourself attracted to me?" Khan queried in his low voice.

_Fuck me, yes,_ Leonard thought helplessly.

"My scans tell me you've got better eyesight than half the crew on this ship, so I'm pretty sure you can see the collar on my neck," Bones replied shortly.

"And what fortunate alpha has claimed such a virile omega as yourself, doctor?" Khan asked.

McCoy favored the alpha with a withering glance. "Don't play dumb ... it doesn't suit you."

Khan growled and Bones felt his legs turn to rubber. "In my day, no omega of mine would _dare _speak to me in such a manner."

_'Of mine' _Leonard registered. His lip curled into a snarl.

"_Your_ day is three hundred years in the past. I'm not _your _omega and you are in _my _med bay so I'll talk to you however _I _deem necessary to perform my duties," McCoy growled.

"And yet your scent says differently ... your scent tells me that I could have you however I wished," Khan purred.

Leonard leaned toward Khan, his eyes flashing with barely controlled anger. "My _scent_ doesn't define who I am, Khan. You might be able to _take_ me, but you sure as hell would never _have_ me."

Khan smiled and his eyes showed true amusement. "A pity you accepted the earnest captain's claim before I met you, doctor. Still, you could always realign. You would not lack for attention as my omega."

"Really … a lesser being such as myself?" Bones sneered.

"Omegas are the life-bearers of us all, doctor – as you well know. Sadly, none of ours survived the exile. You would be highly sought after ... revered."

McCoy's lips quirked as he read his padd. "Sounds great ... spending the rest of my life on my back and birthin' pups."

"It _is_ what nature designed you for, doctor ... your purpose, as it were?"

Leonard snorted. "_I _decide what my purpose is ... not some outdated idea of biological imperative."

Khan's eyes narrowed. "You speak as though your nature can be ignored. I assure you, it _cannot_. If your alpha does not aid you in fulfilling your purpose, your instincts _will_ drive you to seek another ... better suited mate." Khan advised.

Bones' eyes snapped up to Khan's. "Not that it's _any_ of your damn business – but I already have the mate _best-suited_ to me, thank you."

Khan nodded and then gave Leonard one of his intense stares. "I'm glad you think so, Dr. McCoy," He leaned forward and lowered his voice. Ice blue eyes locked on hazel ones. "I think otherwise - tell me, doctor ... do you feel this way when he is near? Does his very presence _consume_ you as mine does? Does the heat and need coursing through you now drive you to kneel before him in submission? You claim he is best-suited to you ... but your body tells me he is not ... _omega._"

Bones head swam with the lust that was coming off Khan in waves. He couldn't bring himself to care that he was responding. Eyes dilated, he licked his lips unconsciously and his thoughts were suddenly muddled, vacillating between duty and the overwhelming urge to bear his throat to the man named Khan. Then another presence made itself known.

_Jim ..._

Like cold water, the feeling of his mate reaching out to their bond for support doused the desire that had been building in Bones. Leonard shook his head and exhaled sharply. He glared at Khan who was regarding him smugly. It had been little more than a mind-fuck on Khan's part. Bones wondered how many omegas had fallen prey to their own biology only to be cast aside when the alpha was sated.

Furious, Bones met Khan's eyes again. Alphas were not the only ones who could use pheromones to their advantage. Khan grimaced which told the doctor he'd succeeded in shifting his own scent to that of an omega rejecting an alpha suit. "Get this straight – I belong to James Tiberius Kirk. I wear _his _collar and I have _his_ mark – and for all your enhanced genes and superiority, Khan? You ain't _him_."

With that, Leonard turned on his heel and walked to his office. Once the door slid safely shut, Leonard slumped into his chair, shaking. No alpha, not even Jim, had affected him _that _strongly outside of his heat. If Jim hadn't touched their bond, Bones had no idea what he would have done – mostly likely something he would have regretted for the rest of his life.

"Damn it!" McCoy yelled, slamming his fist down on the desk. "Fucking omega biology ..."

The involuntary responses built into omega physiology annoyed the hell out of Leonard, always had. He'd learned to manage most of them and deal with the rest but an alpha of Khan's strength was capable of overriding everything he'd worked his life to control. He could not afford any more near-lapses.

With a sigh, Leonard pulled out a hypo and turned to his dispensary unit to dial up a special cocktail of his own design. Normally he loathed suppressants … they were dangerous in that they forced an omega's biology to conform unnaturally which could have serious side-effects. Pressing the hypo to his neck, Bones injected the suppressant compound and hoped it was strong enough to stave off Khan and his genetically enhanced pheromones.

He ignored the looks from Carol Marcus and the few of his staff that had witnessed his near loss of control. God he needed a drink.


	10. Endangered

Jim settled back in his chair. He pressed gently against the bond, seeking support from Bones. He felt the warm response in return and, taking a deep breath, Jim exhaled and smiled disarmingly at the view screen where Admiral Alexander Marcus looked back at him.

"Admiral Marcus, I wasn't expecting you," Jim said calmly. "That's a hell of a ship you've got there."

The man's eyes were zeroed on Kirk. "And I wasn't expecting to get word that you'd taken Harrison into custody in violation of your orders," Marcus replied.

"Well, we had to improvise when our warp core _unexpectedly _malfunctioned," Jim said. His link with Bones was steadying him ... giving him the nerve he was going to need to pull his gambit off. "But you already knew that, didn't you sir?"

"I don't take your meaning," Marcus growled.

"Well that's why you're here, isn't it?" Jim asked, blue eyes guileless. "To assist with our repairs? Why else would the head of Starfleet personally come to the edge of the Neutral Zone?"

Sulu frowned and tapped his console. "Captain, they're scanning us."

"Something I can help you find, sir?" Jim asked.

"Where is your prisoner, Kirk?" Marcus responded.

"Per Starfleet regulation, I'm planning on retuning Khan to Earth to stand trial." Jim said coolly.

Marcus sighed heavily. "Well ... shit. You talked to him."

_Fuck ... Khan was telling the truth._ Jim hadn't realized how much he'd been hoping it wasn't true. How much he'd been hoping that somehow he could return to normal.

"This is exactly what I was trying to spare you," Marcus said. "I took a tactical risk and I woke that bastard up, believing that his superior intelligence could help us protect ourselves from whatever came at us next," Marcus leaned forward tiredly. "But I made a mistake and now the blood of everyone he's killed is on my hands."

_You bastard ...__you're__ the reason Pike's dead ... he __trusted__ you! _Jim thought grimly.

"So I'm asking you ... give him to me so that I can end what I started," Marcus finished.

Jim's mind was awhirl – what was the right thing ... what was the _correct_ thing? He decided to reveal a little more of his hand."

"And what exactly would you like me to do with the rest of his crew, sir?" Jim asked. "Fire them at the Klingons? End 72 lives? Start a war in the process?"

Marcus frowned. "_He_ put those people in those torpedoes. And I simply didn't want to burden you with knowing what was inside of them. You saw what this man can do all by himself ... can you imagine what would happen if we woke up the rest of his crew?" Marcus gave a disgusted huff. "What else did he tell you? That he's a peacekeeper? He's playing you, son, don't you see that?"

* * *

Bones stood next to Carol Marcus listening to Jim's conversation with her father. He frowned at Marcus referring to Jim as "son". Leonard called him "kid" even though there was only six years difference between them. But he _knew _Jim ... knew him better than anyone he liked to think. Marcus only _thought _he the young captain – he had no idea he was about to run into the brick wall named Jim Kirk. Khan sat impassive on the biobed.

Marcus finally asked Jim where his prisoner was – Jim sighed and lied easily. "He's in engineering sir, but I'll have him moved to the transporter room right away."

Bones glanced over at Khan. _Sure hope you know what you're doing, darlin'. _

* * *

Jim sprang out of his chair the minute Marcus terminated the transmission.

"Do not drop those shields, Mr. Sulu," Kirk ordered.

Spock stood. "Captain, given your awareness of Khan's true location in the med bay, may I know the details of your plan?"

"I told Marcus we were bringing a fugitive back to Earth ... that's what we're going to do," Jim answered. Pressing the comm switch, he said, "Mr. Chekov, can we warp?"

"Sir, if we go to warp we run the risk of seriously damaging the core!" came the out-of-breath response.

"Mr. Chekov, can we or can we not do it?"

"Technically, yes, but I would not advise it, Captain," Chekov replied.

"Noted. Mr. Sulu, set course for Earth ... punch it," Jim said briskly.

The familiar feel of his ship moving through space wafted over him and he brushed against the bond for reassurance. He felt acceptance and pride from his mate and allowed himself the tiniest of smiles.

* * *

Bones sighed as the ship went to warp. He grabbed his tricorder and continued the scans interrupted by Khan earlier. "Well, at least we're moving again," Bones muttered.

Khan's eyes speared Leonard's. "If you think you are safe at warp, you're wrong." He turned his gaze onto Carol Marcus who blinked and then was suddenly running out of sickbay.

Bones turned back to Khan. "What the hell was that about?"

"Doctor, I would recommend that you secure yourself and any member of your staff you do _not_ want gravely injured," Khan said softly. "That would include myself and my security detail."

McCoy frowned. "And why the hell would I do that?"

Khan sighed. "As you previously chastised me, doctor ... ignorance does not suit you."

Without taking his eyes from Khan, Bones barked commands to his staff. "Move! Prep for incoming and then get yourselves strapped in!"

* * *

"Lieutenant Uhura, contact Starfleet ... tell them we were pursued into the Neutral Zone by an unmarked Federation ship," Jim said.

"Comms are down, sir," Uhura said with exasperation.

Jim pursed his lips and then frowned as Carol Marcus raced onto the bridge. "Dr. Marcus?"

Carol shook her head, out of breath. "He's going to catch up with us, and when he does, the only thing that's going to stop him from destroying this ship is me, so you have to let me talk to him."

Jim looked at her quizzically. "Carol, we're at _warp_, he _can't_ catch up to us."

"Yes he can," Carol said insistently. "He's been working on a ship that has advanced warp capabilities ..."

"Captain!" Sulu interrupted. "I'm getting a reading I don't understand."

Jim did not have time to ask what the reading was ... the world suddenly went crashing on its side, tossing crew members to the decks. Blasts rocked the _Enterprise_ and Jim struggled to regain his footing even as they were blown out of warp. Spinning to a stop, the _Enterprise _yawed unsteadily as her crew fought to take back control.

"Where are we?" Jim barked.

"237,000 kilometers from Earth," Sulu responded.

"Damage report!" Jim yelled.

"Shields are minimal!"

"We have a bulkhead breach!"

"Weapons are down!"

"Major hull damage, captain!"

Each report made Jim's chest tighten. His crew ... his ship ... how the hell was he supposed to protect them against this? Another volley of fire from Marcus' ship sent him reeling. Gripping the rail, he yelled at Sulu.

"Evasive maneuvers! Get us to Earth, Mr. Sulu – NOW!"

Carol grabbed his arm suddenly and Jim turned to face her with a growl. His eyes were wide and his nostrils flared ... he was very close to an alpha rage. He felt his mate press hard against the bond and he exhaled sharply. Bones' presence calmed him enough to focus on Carol's words.

"Captain, please stop! Everyone on this ship is going to die if you don't let me speak to him," Carol pleaded.

Jim watched her eyes for a second before ordering, "Uhura, hail him."

Carol turned to the viewscreen. "Sir. It's me. It's Carol."

The punishing attack stopped abruptly. Marcus' face appear on the screen. Jim decided he had never hated anyone as much as he did Admiral Alexander Marcus. He wanted to tear the man's throat out with his teeth.

"What are you doing on that ship?"

"I heard what you said," the beta said softly. "That you made a mistake and now you're doing everything you can to fix it ... but Dad ... the man who raised me can't be capable of killing a ship full of innocent beings. If you are, then you'll have to do it with me on board."

Marcus regarded her steadily. "Actually, Carol, I won't."

Carol jerked and then turned in shock as the lights of a transporter beam began to envelope her. She turned around helplessly.

"Sulu, can we intercept the transport signal?" Jim asked, stepping back as Carol turned to run.

Uhura cringed away from the woman ... to be caught in a random transporter beam could easily mean death. Carol's protesting cry faded as she disappeared.

"Captain Kirk, without authorization and in league with the fugitive John Harrison, you went rogue into enemy territory leaving me no choice but to hunt you down and destroy you," Marcus intoned. "Lock phasers."

"Wait, sir, wait, wait, wait!" Jim begged, running across the bridge.

"I'll make this quick," Marcus said. "Target all aft torpedoes on the _Enterprise_ bridge."

Spock rose and stood beside Nyota. The entire bridge crew stared in frozen disbelief that they were about to die.

"Sir, my crew was just following my orders. I take full responsibility for my actions, but they were mine and mine alone. If I transmit Khan's location to you now, all I ask is that you spare them." Jim pleaded. He stepped closer to the screen and tilted his head back. Someone gasped from behind him. "Please sir, I'll do anything you want. Just let them live."

_Bones ... god, I'm so sorry ... _

Marcus chuckled. An alpha growl of triumph rumbled beneath it as the admiral took in the young captain showing throat to the dominant male. "That is a _hell_ of an apology, Kirk. If it's any consolation, I was never going to spare your crew. Too bad ... that omega of yours is quite the looker."

Jim's growl went unheard as the transmission ended. Kirk stood, stunned and slowly turned to face his crew. "I'm sorry."

_Bones. Bones I love you ... I'm so sorry ..._

Jim waited for the final hit but suddenly Sulu looked up. "Sir ... their weapons have powered down."

A familiar voice suddenly came over the comm. "_Enterprise_! Can you hear me?"

Jim turned back to the screen with wide eyes. "Scotty!"

"Guess what I found behind Jupiter," the Scot said, glee apparent in his voice.

"You're on that ship!" Jim exclaimed.

"Aye, I snuck on. And seeing as I've just committed an act of treason against a Starfleet admiral, I'd really like to get off this bloody ship. Now beam me out!" Scotty demanded.

"You're a miracle worker," Jim said. "We're a little low on power right now ... just stand by!"

A confused and wary voice answered him. "What do you mean, 'low on power'? What happened to the _Enterprise_?" The transmission suddenly closed.

"Spock! Our ship, how is she?"

The Vulcan looked stern. "Our options are limited, Captain. We cannot fight and we cannot flee."

Jim sighed. "There is one option ... Uhura, when you get Scotty back, patch him through." He looked at his first officer. "Mr. Spock, you have the conn."

Jim walked to the lift and Spock followed. "Captain, I strongly object."

Kirk sighed. "To what? I haven't said anything."

"Since we cannot take the ship from the outside, the only way must be from within. As a large boarding party would be detected, it is optimal for you to take as few members of the crew as possible. You will meet resistance requiring personnel with advanced combat abilities and innate knowledge of that ship," Spock posited. "This indicates that you plan to align with Khan, the very man we were sent to destroy.

"I'm not aligning with him, I'm using him – the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"An Arabic proverb attributed to a prince who was betrayed and decapitated by his own subjects," Spock informed Jim.

Jim huffed a laugh. "It's still a hell of a quote, Spock."

"I will go with you, Captain."

"No, I need you on the bridge," Jim ordered.

Spock suddenly gripped Jim's shoulder and spun him around. "I cannot allow you to do this."

_Always with the logic,_ Jim thought, bristling at the Vulcan's handling.

"It is my function aboard this ship to assist you in making the wisest choices possible, something I firmly believe you are incapable of doing in this moment," Spock said insistently.

Exasperated, Jim shouted, "You're right!" Jim sighed. "What I'm about to do? It doesn't make any sense, it's not logical … it is a_ gut feeling!"_

Spock looked at him with that peculiar tilt of his head when he was desperately trying to understand the human inclination to be led by emotion. Jim ran his hand though his hair.

"I have no idea what I'm _supposed_ to do … I only know what I _can _do," Jim explained. "The _Enterprise_ and her crew need someone in that chair that knows what he's doing."

Jim looked at his Vulcan first officer intently. His heart was breaking over all that had been wrought on his ship recently … how many crew were lost? How many families would he have to notify that a loved one was gone? How much of it could have been avoided if he'd just _done what he was told to do? _The bond between himself and McCoy shivered with his self-doubt. His mouth quirked as he felt his mate send something that felt like, _Don't make me fucking come over there. _Jim met Spock's gaze.

"That's not me, Spock … it's you." Jim said softly. He turned and walked away leaving Spock alone in the hall.

* * *

Jim stepped into sickbay. Khan sat still and cuffed on the bio bed surrounded by security officers. Bones glanced up at his mate but then went back to working on an injured crewmember. Medical staff moved with purpose around the bay, helping the injured survivors of Marcus' attack. Jim could not quell the relief he felt that Bones was unhurt.

Walking over to Khan, he squared himself in front of the man. Every alpha instinct was telling him to destroy this threat … to take advantage of his current weakened condition. To hand over the thing that Marcus wanted – but he'd tried that and it had very nearly cost him everyone's life. He was done playing by _their _rules.

"Tell me everything you know about that ship."

* * *

After talking to Khan, Jim stepped over to where Bones was working on an obviously dead tribble. He looked around and saw that McCoy's efficient medical team had done what they could for the injured. And Leonard, like his mate, did not do well when idle. He was after answers about something.

"Bones, what are you doing?"

"I'm injecting Khan's platelets into a necrotic host. Khan's cells regenerate like nothing I've ever seen. I want to know why," McCoy replied.

_Leave it to Bones to make our prisoner into a science experiment, _Jim thought. He inhaled deeply, wanting to comfort himself with his mate's scent. What he actually scented had him gripping McCoy's arm and pulling him aside, ignoring the annoyed curses that accompanied his action.

Jim asked softly. "Why is your scent off, Bones? I can barely make it out … wait, you're not," Jim swallowed hard. "You're not going to –"

Bones frowned in confusion. "I'm not going to do what, Jim?" Realization dawned. "You think I'm tryin' to break your claim, don't you?"

"I was there in the brig, Bones! You spiked!" Jim snarled in a low whisper.

"Remember the shuttle ride, _Romeo_?" McCoy replied softly but no less angrily. Jim's uncertainty was very loud to Leonard and his anger finally crested.

"Follow me, _Captain," _Bones growled

The doctor turned on his heel and stalked to his office with Jim right behind him. The omega snatched the empty hypo off his desk and handed it to Jim. "That is the largest dosage of suppressants I can safely take until he is off the ship. Feel free to check if you don't believe me."

"Bones, I wasn't -"

"You_ were_, but I'm gonna explain it anyway. Khan is genetically enhanced, Jim. And he's very obviously an alpha – his pheromones are about three times the normal potency of any normal human alpha male. Hell, I'd have to be _dead_ not to notice or respond to him!" Bones snapped.

"Bones …"

"Not this time, kid," Bones said. "You just accused me of wanting another alpha … something I haven't given you any reason to even _think_ since you marked me. I don't give a fuck who the hell he thinks he is, Khan Noonan Singh is _not_ my alpha, nor will he _ever_ be my alpha. I'm perfectly aware of my own biology, Jim – he caught me off-guard in the brig but I thought I could block him on my own. I'm man enough to say I can't do it, so I've taken preventative measures." Leonard's eyes were flashing with fury. "I can't scent you, him, or any _other_ alpha – and I'm not putting out any attraction scent either, as you can tell. Does that satisfy you, _sir_?"

Jim looked unhappily at his mate. "Bones, I'm _sorry_."

Leonard frowned and leaned back against his desk with his arms crossed. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, I know you are … and so am I, but damn it, Jim! You've been making me pay for every fucking thing that's gone wrong since Pike told you they were taking the _Enterprise_."

Jim rolled his eyes. "And how do you figure that?"

Bones met Jim's gaze. "You wanna go there, kid?"

"You made the accusation, Bones."

Leonard straightened. Looking directly at Jim, he held up his thumb.

"One, you went on the pull the night of the Daystrom attack. I was your roommate for three years, Jim – I know what you smell like when you're trolling."

Jim colored. "Bones, I swear I didn't –"

Leonard silenced his alpha with a gesture and continued.

"Two, _you_ spiked when Carol Marcus started battin' her little eyes at you because you were pissed at me for doing my _job_. Gee, what a fun trip _that_ was – I loathe shuttle rides _and_ I got to sit behind my alpha while he makes me look like a goddamn fool with the new science officer. Three, you pulled alpha on me and ordered me back to sickbay when I tried one last time to do my _job - _then you went completely caveman over my so-called 'omega bitch-fit'. Four, you waltz into my sickbay and accuse me of trying to attract another mate – a homicidal maniac at that!"

Jim growled and fisted the front of Bones' shirt. It wasn't an angry sound, however, it was an aroused one. Bones caught hold of Jim's wrist and held it firm.

"Don't, Jim …"

"You know you want me, Bones," Jim growled, his lips ghosting over Leonard's.

"Always have, always will, kid, but you need to focus and this won't help," Bones said regretfully.

Jim sighed and pressed his forehead to Bones'. "I'm sorry, Bones. I – hell, I don't even know who I am anymore or what I'm doing."

Leonard smiled. "You're James Tiberius Kirk, captain of the U.S.S. _Enterprise_ and my mate. What you're gonna do is some fool thing with Khan and maybe get yourself killed just to save this ship and your crew," Bones whispered. "_Again_, I might add."

Jim huffed a laugh. "Forgive me?"

"Don't I always? Jim I don't _want_ another alpha," Bones said hoarsely, bringing Jim's hand up to press against the claiming mark.

Jim growled lightly. "Mine."

"Yours," Bones agreed. It was primitive instinct, but sometimes it was the only way to get through to his headstrong alpha.

Jim sighed and looked at McCoy. He ran his hand along his mate's collar, smiling at the shiver. His eyes, however were serious when he met Bones' gaze. "I know I've been an ass lately. I just – damn this whole situation is so fucked up."

"You'll figure it out … you always do. Go save the ship, kid. I'll be here when you get back," Bones said, pressing his lips to Jim's.

Jim returned the kiss with everything he had, claiming the omega's mouth as though he were trying to crawl into him physically. The kiss left Bones a little dazed but he recovered well-enough to resume his duties and watch his captain walk out of the medbay with a killer by his side.


	11. Freefall

For some reason, walking away from Bones had left Kirk feeling uneasy. He chalked it up to not being able to ground himself with his mate's scent. He frowned and stalked down the hall with Khan at his side while they outlined their plan to Scotty, who Uhura had finally managed to reach.

"You want to do _what_?" Scotty hissed in disbelief over the comm.

"We're coming over there ... Sulu is maneuvering the _Enterprise_ into position as we speak," Jim said.

"To this ship?" Scotty ask. "How?"

Jim held his comm up to Khan. "There is a cargo door, hangar 7, access port 101A," Khan told Scotty. "You need to find the manual override to open that airlock."

"Are you crazy? Um ... whoever you are?" Scotty replied.

Jim sighed. "Just listen to him, Scotty. It's gonna be all right."

_I hope, anyway. _

The engineer did not sound convinced. "It is _not_ alright. You want me to open an airlock into space, whereupon I will freeze, die and explode!"

Jim and Khan quickly changed into their flight suits and descended into the expulsion tube. Jim again wished he had his omega's scent on him. He felt unsettled but he couldn't say why.

"Scotty, how we doing over there?"

"Captain," came the reluctant reply. "I wish I had better news. They've locked out access to the ship's computer. They'll have full weapons in ... three minutes." Scotty sighed deeply. "That means that next time I won't be able to stop them destroying the _Enterprise_. Stand by."

* * *

Bones had gone to the bridge not long after Jim and Khan left sickbay. He knew there was little he could do other than worry over his mate and his willingness to follow this latest harebrained scheme of Khan's. It made Bones uneasy thinking of the two alphas on a mission together. Alphas could work together easily, but tempers sometimes grew short under stress. Khan was genetically enhanced _and_ he'd made advances on Jim's mate. McCoy's uneasiness grew.

* * *

Sulu announced. "Commander, our trash exhaust is aimed at access port 101A of the other ship."

"Captain," Spock announced. "The ships are aligned."

"Copy that," Jim replied. "Scotty!"

Over the comm came, "I'm in the hangar, give me a minute ... " Sounds of panting came across the channel. "I'm running! Stand by!"

Jim was about to impatiently demand his status when the channel was filled with the indignant Scotsman's voice. "Whoa, whoa, hold on, now, Captain ... this door is very wee – I mean, you know, _small_. It's four square meters tops." Scotty protested. "It's gonna be like jumping out of a moving car, off a bridge ... into your shot glass."

Jim huffed a laugh. "It's ok. I've done it before." Khan gave him a look with a cocked eyebrow. Jim shrugged. "Yeah, it was vertical. We jumped onto a – you know what, nevermind. Scotty have you -"

"Did you find the manual override?" Khan spoke over Kirk, eliciting a growl from the younger man.

"Not yet, not yet!" Scotty said breathlessly.

"Captain, before you launch, you should be aware that there is a considerable debris field between our two ships."

Kirk shook his head as if to clear it. "Spock, not now. Scotty, you good?"

"It's not easy! Just give me two seconds, you mad bastard!" Scotty barked. He wondered if perhaps he shouldn't have just stayed on Delta Vega.

Jim's lips quirked. He looked over as Khan crouched in preparation for the launch. Jim frowned and followed suit.

* * *

Bones had listened to the exchange between Scotty and Jim with growing tension. He pressed against the bond one last time before he would have to back off. He felt the reassuring response and ran his fingers along his collar.

_Damn it, kid ... of course saving our asses is going to require you to jump into open space with an ego-driven superman and what's left of the ship floating in front of you. _Bones thought with a heavy sigh.

Moving beside the captain's chair where Spock sat, Bones crouched down. "Tell me this is gonna work."

Spock glanced at his captain's mate. The omega was watching the view screen but his entire body radiated tension and no small amount of fear. He wondered briefly if this was what Nyota's expression had been during the Nibiru incident.

"I have neither the information nor the confidence to do so, Doctor," Spock replied evenly.

McCoy sighed. "You're a real comfort, Spock."

* * *

"Okay, okay! I'm set to open the door," Scotty announced.

Khan continued to look at the hatch while they waited. He murmured, "Dr. McCoy is ... formidable ... for an omega."

"Noticed that, did you?" Jim replied without looking at Khan.

"Should you decide to relinquish -" Khan began.

"Not gonna happen," Jim broke in.

"I wonder ... would the good doctor agree if I were to press my suit, Captain?"

Bones stood with his arms crossed over his chest and rolled his eyes at Khan's insinuation. He _hated_ it when alphas talked about him like a piece of furniture. He wondered if Jim was going to bother with a reply or if they were going to have to scrape two alphas off the inside of the trash chute.

"Bones can make up his own mind about his choice of alpha," Jim responded. He shrugged, eyes glued to the seam of the hatch doors. "You know ... if you're still able to ask him after I rip your fucking throat out, that is."

Bones chuckled and, against his earlier resolve, sent his amusement and affection along the bond. He got a wave of possessiveness and love in response that sparked something deep within him. Bones decided at that moment that he was going to make Jim request some downtime after this little cluster was done. He took a deep breath as the link fell silent. It was time.

"You ready?" Jim asked Khan.

"Are you?" Khan replied.

Kirk activated his helmet's headsup display and ordered, "Spock, pull the trigger."

"Yes, Captain," Spock replied.

Beside him, Leonard's hand pressed against the collar as he watched the display. He wanted more than anything to feel the link between himself and Jim but he could not chance the distraction to his mate.

_You better come back in one piece, kid, _Bones thought anxiously.

"Launching activation sequence on three ... two ... one ..."

The door opened, firing Jim and Khan into space as though shot from a cannon. Bones loudly released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Spock looked over at him.

"Doctor, it is not logical to be so anxious over an event which you cannot control," Spock advised.

Leonard's eyes were dark with controlled fury when they met Spock's. "When it's _your _mate playing tag in a vacuum with what used to be pieces of the _Enterprise_ while trying _not_ to become a damp spot on the side of another starship, _then_ you can tell me to not be _anxious, _Spock."

McCoy anger faded and he tensed when one of the crewmen behind him warned, "Sir, Kirk is headed for collision at .432!"

"Captain, there is debris directly ahead," Spock relayed.

"Copy that," Jim said. Pressing his thruster control, Jim shifted position and managed to zip around several large pieces of jagged metal.

Leonard had moved to watch on a smaller screen. He frowned. "Whoa, Jim! You're way off course!"

"I know, I know! I can see that," Jim barked.

Leonard winced. The bond had flared momentarily with irritation at the distraction. He clenched his hand tightly into a fist to keep his attention focused and the reaction from the bond.

"Use your display compass, Captain," Sulu said easily. "You must correct precisely -37.243 degrees."

"Got it. I'm working my way back," Jim said.

"Scotty, you're gonna be ready with that door, right?" Jim shouted. When there was no response, he said worriedly, "Mr. Scott, where are you?"

"Captain, he can't seem to hear you. I'm working on getting his signal back. Stand by." Uhura's soft voice informed Jim.

A strange popping and cracking sound came over Jim's channel. Bones suddenly felt as though there wasn't enough air in the room. Jim cursed softly.

"Captain, what is it?" Spock inquired.

"My helmet was hit," Jim explained. The spiderweb of cracks seemed to grow with every breath he took. "Uhura, tell me you have Mr. Scott back."

"No captain, still working on a signal. His communicator is working, I don't know why he isn't answering."

"Imminent collision detected!" Someone called out.

"Khan, use evasive action! There is debris directly ahead," Spock warned.

"I see it," the alpha responded, his voice oddly even and calm for the situation.

Leonard watched the signal beacon marking Khan's position suddenly wink out. He blinked – was his mate _alone_ out there now?

"Mr. Sulu, did we lose Khan?" Spock asked.

"I don't know, Commander. I'm having trouble tracking him in all this debris," Sulu replied.

Jim glanced over as he sped on toward the _Vengeance_. "Was Khan hit?"

"We are trying to find him now," Spock replied.

"Captain! You need to adjust your target destination to 183 by 473 degrees," Sulu advised.

Jim did so, zipping in and out of the chunks of flotsam between him and Marcus' ship. He squinted to see his readout when suddenly it disappeared. Jim cursed again.

"Spock, my display's dead. I'm flying blind."

Bones swallowed hard. His collar suddenly felt cold around his neck. He longed to touch the bond but refrained. Leonard could not help the open-mouthed look of despair he shot at Spock when the Vulcan said, "Captain, without your display compass, hitting your target destination is mathematically impossible." He lost his fight to hold back.

Jim felt a sudden surge of fear and heartsick pain flow through the bond followed almost immediately by an apologetic retreat. Jim held onto the presence before Bones could withdraw completely even as he said, "Spock, if I get out of this we really need to talk about your bedside manner." Jim tugged on their link. He wasn't going to hold on to foolish ego ... he _needed_ his mate right now.

* * *

On the bridge, Leonard McCoy was at war with himself. On the exterior, he looked worried but not unduly so – a proper Starfleet officer's reaction. Stepping down to stand beside Spock, Bones crossed his arms and a frown deeply etched itself into his brow. Anyone looking at the omega would never have guessed he was screaming inside, wanting to call out to Jim. Bones didn't know how to comfort his mate right now when he needed support almost as much. Leonard settled for just allowing his presence to flood the bond. He was surprised to feel intense relief at his presence and received to assurance he needed to calm down. He felt the strength being with Jim always gave him – the courage to deal with any situation.

Jim knew his mate was afraid for him – personally, he was more than a little worried himself. But feeling his omega's solid presence in the link, Jim was able to stay focused and run through various scenarios while dealing with the real possibility that he was about to flatten against the side of the ship that had crippled the _Enterprise. _Still, with his mate's unwavering faith in him, Jim believed it would work out. Bones grounded him no matter the situation, now was no different. He'd make it.

* * *

Sulu turned to Spock. "Commander, he's not going to make it."

Sulu caught movement from McCoy. He met the omega's eyes as the doctor ran his trembling fingers over the collar. He suddenly understood what Leonard's comment earlier meant. Sulu realized his own omega might someday have to watch helplessly while he fought for his very life. Every action he took was going to affect his mate from the moment he claimed until one of them was dead. Sulu swallowed with the weight of the responsibility he would be accepting and the burden he would bestow. A sudden beeping pulled his attention back to the console. Khan's signal had reappeared.

"My display is still functioning," Khan's voice said calmly. "I see you, Kirk, you're 200 meters ahead of me at my one o'clock. Come to your left a few degrees and follow me."

Dr. Leonard McCoy thought he might actually kiss the alpha when he came back on board. He loathed the man's attitude but if he saved Jim's life, he could work around that. The spike of irritation that hit the bond told him he'd let his emotion bleed through. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. He had a reputation to maintain after all.

Kirk met Khan's eyes though the helmet and his jaw tightened at the smug expression on the other alpha's face. He swallowed a growl, but he forgot the link between himself and Bones was open. He received the equivalent of a smack to the back of his head and sighed.

_Mine_, Jim thought. _Never going to give you up._

Bones heard the captain's faint sigh and knew his annoyance at the possessive anger that jittered along the link had reached Jim. He pinched the bridge of his nose. _Fucking alpha pissing contests,_ Bones thought.

"Scotty, we're getting close," Jim announced. "We need a warm welcome ... do you copy? _Do you copy_? Scotty!" Jim's eyes widened as the side of the _Vengeance_ approached very quickly.

"If you can hear us, Mr. Scott, open the door in ten, nine, ..." Spock began the countdown.

Bones' hands were shaking as the Vulcan's countdown continued. He kept his eyes focused on the small dot that indicated his mate on the view screen. The world narrowed to that blinking beacon.

"Scotty!" Jim called out.

"... eight ... seven ..."

"Mr. Scott, where are you?!"

"... six ... five ..."

"1,800 meters ... 1, 600 meters ..."

Leonard thought he might go mad as the sounds of his lover's imminent death echoed around him.

"Scotty where are you!"

"... three ..."

"Do you copy, Scotty? Please!"

"... two ..."

"Mr. Scott, open the door!"

"Open the door!"

"Mr. Scott, now!"

Jim's yell continued as he and Khan flew through the port and into the starship's hangar. McCoy let out another harsh exhale when he saw Jim's life-signs continue past the moment of impact. His mate was alive. Spock looked over at the doctor who bristled at getting another lecture. Instead, the Vulcan gave a much softer but no less obvious exhale. Bones' mouth quirked.

_Go get 'em, Jim._

* * *

Jim and Khan slammed into the deck and tumbled pell-mell, coming to rest at Scotty's feet almost. Jim groaned as he pushed himself up to a kneeling position.

"Welcome aboard," Scotty said, breathing quickly.

"Scotty, it is _very_ good to see you," Jim said fervently.

"Who is that?" Scotty asked, nodding toward Khan.

Jim winced and motioned at the man. "Khan, Scotty ... Scotty, Khan."

"Hello," Scotty said amicably.

Khan regarded his companions. "They will know we're here. I know the best way to the bridge."

Jim nodded and he and Khan quickly divested themselves of the flight suits. From his backpack he pulled three phasers.

"They're locked on stun," Jim warned.

Khan powered his up. "Theirs won't be."

Jim met the other alpha's eyes. "Try not to get shot."

* * *

On the bridge, Bones stood, calming himself as the link between himself and his mate went quiet. He could no longer feel Jim's emotions. He sighed and glanced over when Uhura spoke to Spock.

"Commander, I have that transmission as requested."

"Onscreen ... please," Spock replied.

The screen coalesced into the figure of a very old Vulcan. Bones blinked in surprise. Spock Prime. _His_ Spock was grasping at straws in an attempt to survive the situation they were in – still, Bones was impressed at the Vulcan's ingenuity. He wondered what the time-trapped Spock would have to offer.

* * *

Scotty groused, "They're going to have full power and we're _walking_?"

"The turbolifts are easily tracked and Marcus would have us in a cage," Khan explained as though talking to a small child. "This path runs adjacent to the engine room. They know they won't be able to use their weapons here without destabalizing the warp core, which gives us the advantage."Khan ran off after checking a console.

"Where'd you find this guy?" Scotty asked Kirk.

"It's a long story," Jim replied as he followed the alpha. He thought that Scotty was lucky he was a beta ... he couldn't scent Khan's duplicity.

* * *

"In your travels, did you ever encounter a man named Khan?" Spock asked the elder Vulcan.

Spock Prime regarded his younger counterpart impassively. "As you know, I have made a vow never to give you information that could potentially alter your destiny. Your path is yours to walk and yours alone."

Bones felt his chest contracting against his lungs. They were going to die because an old Vulcan from another timeline had to pick _now_ to have scruples? Even his Spock looked almost disappointed.

"That being said," Spock Prime continued. "Khan Noonen Singh was the most dangerous adversary the _Enterprise_ ever faced. He is brilliant, ruthless, and he will not hesitate to kill every single one of you."

"Did you defeat him?" Spock asked.

"At great cost ... yes," Spock Prime replied.

"How?"

* * *

"I don't mean to tempt fate here, but where is everybody?" Scotty whispered.

"The ship is designed to be flown by a minimal crew, one if necessary," Khan explained.

"One?! I -" Scotty began.

Neither Jim nor Scotty heard the crewman that attacked Khan at that moment, but they both witnessed the sudden and alarming shift in Khan. It was as if someone had turned a switch. Jim had seen Khan fight before but this was different. This was one-on-one in close quarters – and the man was savage. He slammed the man into a wall and proceeded to deliver several crushing blows to the man's midsection. Both the captain and his engineer took several steps back in shock ... Khan's scent was hot, fierce and very deadly at that moment.

As they did so, other crew members came out of the darkened engine room. Jim barely saw the one that attacked him before the first blow landed, snapping his head around – and that was it. Jim's control over his rage splintered – he was on edge already due to Khan's taunting and his overwhelming worry and fear for his ship and crew. Khan's very potent pheromones successfully finished pushing Jim over the edge and red clouded his vision. With a growl, Jim waded into the fray and began delivering a few savage blows of his own.

When in a rage, Jim couldn't control the link between himself and Leonard. Bones clenched his hands into fists as the fury boiled over into their bond. He pushed back with as much calm as he could, reminding his mate of where he was and what his mission was – it seemed to work, the pressure against his mind faded somewhat.

Blinking, Jim stared down at the crumpled bodies before him. Scotty tentatively touched his shoulder and he jumped, but did not attack. He could feel his mate insistently pushing soothing emotions at him and he exhaled sharply.

"Scotty, you alright?"

"Yes," the beta replied. "Where's Khan?"

Jim looked and saw an empty hallway looming in front of him. This was not good.

* * *

Leonard watched Spock walk over to Uhura and ask her to assemble all senior medical and engineering staff in the weapons bay. Since that would include himself, the omega wanted to know what the hell the Vulcan had in mind. He frowned as Spock turned to him.

"Dr. McCoy, you inadvertently activated a torpedo. Could you replicate the process?"

"Why the hell would I want to do that?" Bones asked.

"Can you or can you not?" Spock demanded.

"Damn it man, I'm a doctor not a torpedo technician!" Leonard growled, his anger flaring.

"The fact that you are a doctor is precisely why I need you to listen very carefully," Spock said, meeting the doctor's eyes.

After listening, McCoy had to admit, the Vulcan was learning how to be more human every day.

* * *

"Where is he?" Scotty asked as they ran down darkned hallways trying to find Khan.

After a moment of searching with no luck, Jim cursed. Without Khan, there was no way they could make it to the bridge before the power returned and he destroyed the _Enterprise_. Mind racing, Jim tried to think up an alternate plan.

"This way," came a soft voice from behind them.

Jim and Scotty turned to see Khan standing at the end of the conduit row they were in – he recharged his phaser and moved off. Kirk sighed, but then he stayed Scotty for a moment while they reset their own phasers.

"The minute we get to the bridge, drop him," Jim ordered softly.

"What, stun him? Khan? I thought he was helping us?" Scotty asked, confused.

"I'm pretty sure we're helping him," Jim replied and moved to follow the man who held his crew's fate in his genetically superior hands.


	12. Dying

**A/N: **Kleenex warning - it's THAT chapter. I hope I did it justice.

* * *

Jim followed closely behind Khan as they made their way to the bridge of the _Vengeance_. He felt briefly upset about his plan but then he remembered Pike's motionless body and the guilt fled. He forced himself to focus on getting to the bridge in one piece so that his scent didn't change and alert Khan.

The lights overhead suddenly blazed on and Khan began to run with Jim and Scotty in tow. They had no choice, they had to reach the bridge before the ship could use its freshly powered weapons on the _Enterprise_. Bursting into the bridge, Jim began firing the minute he picked up a target. One by one, bodies fell until no crew was left standing. Jim moved to stand in front of the admiral and gave a brief nod to Scotty. The engineer abruptly stunned Khan.

"Make sure he stays down," Jim ordered.

Scotty moved to cover Khan with a polite "excuse me" to Carol Marcus who stood staring in disbelief at the man who'd actually brought her father to bay.

"Admiral Marcus," Jim said. "You're under arrest."

Marcus regarded Kirk with amusement. "You're not actually going to do this, are you?"

"Admiral, get out of the chair," Jim ordered.

The elder alpha growled. "You better stop and think about what you're doing, Kirk. You'd better think about what you did on Qo'noS – you made an incursion onto an enemy planet! You killed a Klingon patrol! Even if you got away without a trace ... war is coming and who's gonna lead us?! You?! If I'm not in charge, our entire way of life is decimated!" The admiral's face was red with anger. "So if you want me off this ship, you better kill me."

Jim heard the challenge in the older man's voice. He had no doubt that Marcus had actually had fought a few alpha duels in his time – as antiquated as the idea was, it still happened. He also had no doubt that if he'd met the man before Pike, he probably would have taken him up on it. Now, however, he was different. Pike and McCoy had changed him ... Starfleet had changed him. He wasn't the same hotheaded young alpha he'd been not five years ago. He kept his weapon trained on Marcus and snarled,

"I'm not going to kill you, sir," Jim said, blue eyes flashing. "But I can stun you and drag your sorry ass out of that chair if I have to – I'd rather not do that in front of your daughter." Jim glanced over at Carol. "Are you alright?"

The beta looked at him and nodded. "Yes, captain."

Jim turned back to Marcus when Khan suddenly surged up from the floor and clubbed Scotty. Jim barely had time to register the man was conscious before Khan was flying over the navigation console and tackling him to the deck. Marcus was up and running while Khan laid Kirk out with a punch. Khan snarled in his own rage as he began to methodically repay Jim for every blow he'd received on Qo'noS. Jim couldn't believe how badly the strikes hurt. It was then that Khan grabbed him by the hair and dragged him aloft in front of him.

"By the time I am finished, McCoy won't remember he ever had an alpha other than myself. _Mine_ will be the only name on his lips and he will beg for the honor of carrying _my _offspring," Khan growled.

The thought of Bones being broken by this man drove Jim into a rage and he began to fight back but he didn't have the strength to take on the warrior. Khan drove his knee into Jim's midsection and slammed him against the console. As Jim crumpled to the ground, Khan stalked over to Marcus. Carol attempted to stop him but he only tossed her aside and shattered her leg with one well-placed stomp of his boot. Her scream cut through Jim's consciousness and he managed to push himself upright just in time to see Khan crush a man's skull with his bare hands. As Carol screamed again, what was left of Admiral Alexander Marcus fell to a bloody heap on the floor.

* * *

Jim groaned in pain as Khan held him upright before the view screen of the _Vengeance_. Spock and the bridge of the _Enterprise_ coalesced before him.

"I will make this very simple, _Captain_. Your crew for my crew," Khan said.

"You betrayed us," Spock accused.

"Oh you are smart, Mr. Spock," Khan sneered.

Jim met his second-in-command's eyes and ordered, "Spock don't - "

Khan's fist landed on Kirk's back, sending stars shooting across his vision as he fell to the deck, barely conscious. He wanted to stand up but his body wouldn't cooperate. Instead, he lay helpless while Khan conversed with Spock.

"Mr. Spock, give me my crew," Khan requested.

"And what will you do when you get them?" Spock asked.

"We will continue the work we were doing before we were banished," Khan replied.

"Which, as I understand it, involves the mass genocide of any you find to be less than superior."

"Shall I destroy you, Mr. Spock? Or will you give me what I want?" Khan asked, his patience quickly drawing to an end.

Jim wanted to tell Spock to stop negotiating. The man would kill them all anyway. Jim's thoughts drifted to Bones. He remembered Khan's promise about his omega and heat began to pool in his gut – anger and determination in equal amounts.

"We have no transporter capabilities," Spock advised.

"Fortunately, mine are perfectly functional," Khan responded. "Drop your shields."

"If I do so, I have no guarantee that you will not destroy the _Enterprise_," Spock countered.

Khan sighed. "Let's play this out logically, then, Mr. Spock. Firstly, I will kill your captain to demonstrate my resolve. Then, if yours holds, I will have no choice but to kill you and your entire crew."

"If you destroy our ship, you will also destroy your own people."

"Your crew requires oxygen to survive, mine does not. I will target your life support systems located behind the aft nacelle. And after every single person aboard your ship suffocates, I will walk over your cold corpses to retrieve to recover my people." Khan glanced down at Kirk, who was beginning to struggle to push himself up off the floor. "I will, of course, be sure to transport Dr. McCoy into a secure holding area aboard this ship prior to the demise of the crew. Captain Kirk knows his destiny from there." He looked back up at Spock. "Now then ... shall we begin?"

"Lower shields, Mr. Sulu," Spock ordered.

Khan sneered. "A wise choice, Mr. Spock." He slammed his booted foot into Jim's midsection and walked to the console while the younger alpha gasped for air. "I see your 72 torpedoes are still in their tubes. If they are not mine, Commander, I will know it."

"Vulcans do not lie." Spock said coolly. "The torpedoes are yours."

Khan tapped over the controls quickly and beamed the torpedoes aboard the _Vengeance_. "Thank you, Mr. Spock."

"I have fulfilled your terms," Spock said. "Now fulfill mine."

"Well, Kirk, it seems apt to return you to your crew. After all, no ship should go down without her captain. Tell your omega I will always recall him fondly."

* * *

Jim blinked as they coalesced in the brig of the _Enterprise_. Scotty slammed his foot against the barrier. "Let us out of here!" They all fell again as the ship was buffeted by phaser fire.

Grabbing Carol between them, Jim and Scotty dragged her down the corridor to medical as the ship continued to rock under fire. Spock's voice came over the shipwide comm. "Crew of the _Enterprise_, prepare for imminent proximity detonation."

"What's he talking about? What detonation?" Scotty bleated.

"The torpedoes," Jim realized. "He armed the damn torpedoes!"

Racing into medical, Jim yelled out, "Bones!"

The doctor motioned them toward an empty bed and they deposited Carol onto it. A nurse quickly took over. Jim locked eyes with his omega.

"Good to see you, Jim," McCoy said with a grin.

"You helped Spock detonate those torpedoes?" Jim asked in disbelief.

"Damn right, I did!" Bones replied.

"He killed Khan's crew!" Jim said in shock.

Bones leaned close to his mate. "Spock's cold but he's not that cold. _I've_ got Khan's crew," Leonard explained, pointing. "72 human popsicles, safe and sound in their cryo tubes."

"Son of a bitch," Jim muttered.

Then the lights went out and the ship began to heel to one side, throwing Jim against the bio bed behind him with an armful of his mate. Before Leonard could extricate himself, Jim yanked him into a kiss that was bruising and deep. He held him there for a minute before the ship eased a little and Jim could release his mate. Bones looked at his captain, exasperated.

"Let them report me," Jim said softly. "I just want you to know, no matter what happens, I will always ... _always_ love you."

Jim pushed away before Bones could respond and was racing out the door with Scotty. Bones began yelling orders to his staff. "Engage emergency lockdown!"

Hooking up Carol's restraints, he smiled grimly. "I hope you don't get seasick, Commander."

"No ... do you?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Doctor, I apologize for -"

Leonard shook his head. "Sweetheart, I sure as hell don't blame you for trying," he said with a light grin. "But next time I may be sorely tempted to forget my manners."

Carol nodded with a smile and Bones moved off to secure the rest of the bay. He sent as much love as he could to his link with Jim. It was all he could offer until he saw his mate again. Which he hoped would be sooner rather than later.

* * *

Jim struggled to stay upright as he and Scotty ran down the corridors headed to engineering. He felt Bones' touch of their bond and smiled in spite of the situation. He couldn't wait until this was said and done and they were alone together ... he intended to spend some serious time apologizing to his mate for everything. He intended to _enjoy_ it, too.

"One day I've been off this ship!" Scotty complained. "One bloody day!"

Jim was swept off his feet as the entire ship flipped on his side. He and Scotty were able to grab the railing on one of the skywalks that crossed the central shaft of the ship's saucer section. He had to watch helplessly as one of his crew slid past, screaming. His _crew_ ... _Bones_ ...

"There won't be time for evacuation if we don't get power to stabilize the damn ship!" Scotty yelled, as they dangled, caught at the mercy of a spinning ship.

"Can we restore it?" Jim yelled back.

"Only from engineering," Scotty explained. "We have to get back to the warp core!"

Scotty pulled himself up as he stared up into a nightmare of crew members hanging on for their lives. Jim glanced up and swallowed hard before yelling, "Scotty, we got to get the power back on! Come on!"

Racing through the tossing ship's corridors, Jim and Scotty managed to keep their feet as the walls became floors and hallways suddenly became shafts of death. Leaping over one such chasm, Jim and Scotty continued on to engineering. They raced along catwalks and down steps, fighting to get through to the warp core. As they crossed a long catwalk, the ship slid to one side, dumping them against the railing. A large piece of something came crashing down and bounced off the catwalk before plunging on past. The impact jarred them both over the edge but they were able to grab hold. It was a near thing.

Jim looked over and saw that Scotty's hands were slipping as they swung over the void. The beta looked terrified as his grip released and he started to plunge downward. Jim reached out and was just able to grab Scotty's arm. He ignored the flare of agony in his shoulder as he held on. The combined weight of himself and Scotty was going to be too much, Jim knew but he also knew he would hold on as tightly as he could for as long as he could.

He felt a faint twinge of fear from McCoy and he opened the link between them. His mate's terror flooded through and Jim felt the omega desperately trying to reign it in to no avail. Jim knew how Bones felt about flying on a good day ... he could only imagine that this was Bones' worst nightmare come to life. He pushed his own fear down and concentrated on Leonard for a moment. In a reverse of their roles, Jim sent calm reassurance to the link. He felt the shaky gratitude of his mate but then he had to release the link as he felt his grip beginning to loosen.

Scotty squeezed his eyes shut as he realized Jim wouldn't be able to hold on any longer. When Jim's hand released, he waited for the plunge to his death, but it never came. Instead, Jim felt his wrist grasped tightly by two very strong hands and opened his eyes to see Chekov clinging desperately to his captain.

"I've got you, keptin!" Chekov called. The young omega fought against the inexorable pull of gravity and then the ship began to slowly right itself. Jim and Scotty were able to pull themselves back over the railing. Jim rotated his injured shoulder as he followed Scotty and McCoy through the maze of engineering.

"Even if we get the warp core online, we've still got to redirect the power!" Scotty yelled over the din.

"He's right keptin!" Chekov agreed.

"What are you talking about?" Jim hollered.

"Someone has to hit the manual override. There's a switch ..."

"Behind the deflector dish! I'll flip the switch!" Chekov yelled.

Jim and Scotty ran past the shuttle bays and watched in horror as the shifting _Enterprise_ dropped shuttles out of their bays into a pile of useless scrap below. Jim tugged on Scotty's shirt and pulled him toward their destination. They couldn't afford to grieve yet.

As Scotty and Jim scrambled around the core to the control console, a warning klaxon began to sound.

_**Core misaligned. Danger. Core misaligned. Danger.**_

"Oh no no no!" Scotty moaned.

"What?" Jim demanded.

"The housings are misaligned! There's no way we can redirect the power! The ship's dead, sir. She's gone." Scotty said helplessly.

Jim looked toward the core and then said, "No, she's not."

Scotty chased after his captain. "Wait, Jim!"

"If we go in there, we'll die!" Scotty yelled. "Do you hear me? The radiation will kill us! Will you listen to me?" Scotty pleaded. He gaped at Jim as the alpha tapped in an override code to open the door to the core. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm opening the door, Scotty. I'm going in ..." Jim said, shrugging off Scotty's restraining hand.

"That door is there to stop us from getting irradiated! We'd be dead before we made the climb!" Scotty screamed, hoping that he could get through to the headstrong young man.

Jim paused. He suddenly knew with absolute clarity what he had to do.

"You're not making the climb …"

Jim's fist caught Scotty direct on the chin, snapping the man's head back and knocking him out. Jim dragged him quickly to a nearby console chair and strapped him in before racing back to the housings. Finishing his override entry, Jim opened the compartment and entered, locking it behind him.

Jim thought of his mate as the door shut behind him. _Bones ..._

Focused on what he had to do, Jim did not allow himself to consider what this was going to do to his omega mate. By entering the chamber, he'd already exposed himself to a deadly dose of radiation - there was no turning back. He allowed the bond to fall silent, knowing his mate would respect that to the best of his ability. When he felt the emptiness form along their link, he knew he'd succeeded. Bones wouldn't touch the link until Jim did.

_You're going to hate me, Bones ... but I couldn't _not _try. I couldn't let the ship ... let you ... die._

His very skeleton hurt, the frame of his body felt as thought it were cracking with every agonized step he made. Every nerve ending in his body was screaming at him that this was wrong, that poison was settling into his very cells … that he was dying.

Jim ignored it all. The mantra that ran through his mind was protect ship, protect crew, protect _Bones. _

The crawl through the Jefferies tube seemed to take forever. Jim's body seemed to grow heavier with each movement until he was fighting just to keep going forward. He finally emerged into the core and could see the misaligned housings. He began another aching effort to climb over and around tubes and piping to reach them. The chamber echoed with the pained cries of a dying man fighting his own body to do what had to be done.

Slowly reaching the base of the core housing, Jim found handholds and a reserve of strength he didn't know he had. His arms and injured shoulder protested loudly with each kick, but Jim pulled his feet up and slammed them against the housing supports, trying to push them back into place. With each kick, Jim sucked in ragged breaths that burned like acid. His eyes stung and he fought to keep his vision focused.

_One more kick ... almost there ..._

The last blow reverberated through Jim like a hammer blow. The housing slid into place and Jim cried out as the release of energy slammed him off the support and left him to fall down to the decking. He lay in crumpled agony on the plates for a moment, certain he was bleeding internally ... that his organs were shutting down. It didn't matter. His ship had the chance it needed. His mate ... _Bones ... _had a chance to live.

* * *

Bones felt the ship right itself from where he sat, strapped into a chair, gripping the armrests hard enough to crack them. The last few minutes had been among the most terrifying of his life and he was grateful Jim had been able to connect with him however briefly to keep him from devolving into full-blown hysteria. He'd let the bond go silent when Jim did – he supposed Scotty and Jim had been intent on fixing whatever was wrong with the ship and he couldn't afford the distraction. But as the power began to slowly resume, Bones sighed with relief and, against his judgment, he sent relief and gratitude through the link, hoping it didn't piss Jim off too badly.

The response made his blood freeze – it was so faint ... the barest echo of his mate's normally strong presence.

"Jim?" Leonard whispered, frantically releasing himself from the restraints.

_Dr. McCoy?_ Scotty's voice sounded broken over the comm.

"McCoy here," Bones replied weakly. He was already moving to the door, eyes focused straight ahead, not seeing anything. He did not want Scotty to say anything else but the engineer did – and McCoy's entire world shattered.

_You need to come to engineering, Leonard. Now._

McCoy broke into a run before Scotty was finished speaking. He clutched at the bond as he flew down the corridors with little heed to anyone or anything that got in his way. Jim was hurt ... in a good deal of pain, although his mate was holding back, trying to shield him. Bones cursed, he hadn't grabbed his kit as he bolted from sick bay.

_Stupid ... how do you intend to treat him when you get there?_ Bones' mind chastised him. He ignored the other voice ... the one that whispered that Jim was beyond treatment and that was why they'd called him.

Leonard kept pressing against the bond, trying to get Jim to open up completely to him. His mate was distracted by something ... McCoy felt a surge of warmth toward someone ... and an underlying sense of farewell. McCoy slipped and nearly fell rounding a corner. He refused to contemplate what that emotion had meant ... Jim was hurt ... confused. He wouldn't be making sense so there was no point in assuming the worst, Leonard desperately reasoned. Reaching engineering, McCoy made his way unerringly through the warp core elements, following Jim's scent.

He shouldn't have been able to scent his mate at all. The suppressants were still in his system … but there it was, clear as day and strong as ever. He saw Scotty and Uhura hovering just behind Spock, who crouched before a door that led to the core itself. McCoy's heart stuttered as the reality of what he was seeing seeped into his mind.

Jim asked a question of Spock who — wonder of all wonders — was crying.

"Because you are my friend," Spock replied to Jim's question.

Leonard swallowed past the lump in his throat. The Vulcan finally understood the very human reason Jim had risked everything to pull him out of the volcano. McCoy saw Spock press his hand against the glass view port in a very Vulcan gesture. He saw Jim return it as best he could. Spock stood and turned away, squeezing McCoy's shoulder before stepping back to stand near Scotty and Uhura.

Bones slid to his knees in the space vacated by Spock and pressed his forehead to the glass. "Jim?"

"B-b-ones …" Jim whispered, smiling at his mate.

Bones could no longer rationalize his fear away. He gave a very un-McCoy-like whimper. "Why … ?" he asked.

He knew the answer. Of _course _he knew the answer ... but his heart wanted to believe that somehow, the Jim Kirk luck would win out. For all his surety that one day Jim would leave him – Leonard McCoy had refused to truly believe it would actually happen. He wanted to scream but Leonard found he couldn't look away, couldn't stop staring into the beautiful blue eyes that he awoke to nearly every morning.

Jim leaned forward, pressing his own forehead to the glass in imitation of the intimate gesture they often shared. "You know … h-h-had to do it ... couldn't l-let you die ... B-bones."

Leonard gave a soul-deep groan. "I know, darlin' … you always do what has to be done … and you did good. God I'm so proud of you, kid," Bones said brokenly.

Jim's eyes brightened slightly. All the commendations in the galaxy and James T. Kirk was still the insecure boy from Iowa who just wanted to know he did well — that he mattered. Bones was grateful he could give him that.

"Should have … k-known you were … it when … when you did-didn't leave m-me behind," Jim said.

Bones could not stop the tears streaming down his face, remembering the look on Jim's face when he pulled him along to begin their adventures by sneaking him on the _Enterprise._

"Was always ... _always _you, Jim," Leonard's voice faded to a harsh pleading whisper. "Please don't leave me ..."

Jim's omega was one of the strongest men he knew, but the bond betrayed him. Jim could feel Bones starting to let go - the indomitable will was disintegrating in the face of a loss the doctor refused to endure. Jim simply couldn't let that happen after everything, so he focused his thoughts and pushed at their bond. "D-do-don't give up ... y-y-you _live, _Bones – _live ..."_

Bones felt and heard the implicit alpha command. His eyes widened in shock as the automatic omega response flooded him, then Leonard began to shake his head desperately.

"No!" Bones begged. "Jim ... please don't make me stay here ... let me be with you … god, please don't … I _can't_ …"

" ... c-can ... _live_, o-om-omega ..." Jim said firmly, filling the bond between them with his demand - his last order to an officer, a final request to his mate.

Bones' expression crumpled. He'd never hated his biology more than that instant – he was hardwired to comply with his mate's commands. Jim had effectively stolen his only escape from the anguish of losing half his heart. A pained sound escaped his lips as Leonard nodded. "Ye-yes, alpha ... "

Jim gave Bones the same wide smile as the night Leonard had accepted his claim, wrapping himself in their bond and feeling the peace he'd been searching for all his life. Jim found he wasn't afraid any longer. He said softly, "L-love you so m-m-much, Bones."

Leonard swallowed repeatedly before he could speak. "Love you too ... Ji-Jim ..."

"Mine." Jim smiled.

"Yours." Bones whispered.

Jim's blue eyes found his mate's hazel ones. He was glad he'd finally gotten the nerve to ask Leonard to be his omega. His happiest memories began that night ... the man had never given up on Jim, never failed to come when he called, he'd given everything to and for his alpha. Jim hoped that was what waited for him on the other side – an eternity of memories of his mate … of _his_ Bones.

For an instant there was no glass between them and no one else in the universe but Jim Kirk and Leonard McCoy.

The instant passed and Leonard saw Jim's eyes focus on something over his shoulder as a smile teased the soft lips he loved to kiss. The blue eyes dimmed and Jim exhaled slowly. Leonard slapped his hand helplessly against the glass when there was no following inhale. As his mate's body slumped away from the door, their bond faded and went silent. Grief-stricken howls tore out of the omega's frame as he clutched at his collar and slammed his fist against the glass over and over again.

Behind him, Uhura pressed her hands to her mouth and buried her face against Spock's chest. Scotty stood, biting his lower lip and trying desperately not to cry ... but failing miserably. Jim was gone.


	13. Return

**A/N: **It's almost done ... thank you so much to all my readers for all the reviews and views - you're all the best.

* * *

The decontamination process had taken far longer in McCoy's mind than he'd imagined it would. He directed the removal of his mate's body and followed the repulsor lift gurney back to the med bay with its white-shrouded form. He felt his eyes sting when the crew they passed stopped whatever task they were engaged in and came to solemn attention at the sides of the corridors.

_See, kid? You were __meant__ for that chair ... they all knew it, just like Pike did. Like I did, _Bones thought.

Before leaving engineering, Uhura laid her hand on Bones' arm and looked at him with tear-filled eyes. He'd put his hand over hers with a quick squeeze.

"Go on," Leonard said hoarsely. "They'll need you on the bridge."

"Len ..."

McCoy shook his head. "We have our duties, Nyota... we have to do them or else he ... he died for nothing."

Uhura raised up and gently pressed her lips against his cheek. If she tasted the salt of fresh tears, Uhura did not say anything.

Now, standing in sickbay, looking down at the body bag containing his mate, his alpha and his captain – Leonard was dry-eyed and numb. He slowly unzipped the bag, laying the flaps back, exposing the pale features. McCoy gently ran his fingertips over a few small cuts on Jim's face.

_Gonna have to regen those before ... _Leonard's brain refused to finish the thought.

He could barely scent his mate – the pheromones that made Jim stand out like a beacon to Leonard were already fading. McCoy wondered how long it would be before he could no longer recall Jim's smell. He gave a heavy sigh and stroked the line of his alpha's jawline.

Scotty stood behind the doctor with a somber face. He remembered the day Jim and Leonard announced they'd mated ... neither one of them could stop smiling. Scotty wondered if McCoy would ever smile again after this.

Leonard reached to the bond out of habit and winced when he touched nothing. McCoy had worked his way to the bottom of several bottles the last time he lost his alpha. Even now, despite Jim's command, Leonard found himself wanting to curl up in a corner with whatever would bring oblivion the fastest. The doctor stepped back and regarded the still form.

"Said you didn't believe in the no-win situation, Jim ... but you left me in one," McCoy murmured.

_'Live, omega' ... _Jim's final command as an alpha to his omega reverberated in McCoy's mind. Leonard didn't know if the compel would fade with time or not but for now it was unavoidable.

Leonard slowly walked to his lab station and sat down heavily. He knew what needed to be done – the procedure for preparation of deceased crewmembers was rolling through his head even now along with all the associate regulations. He'd unfortunately had plenty of practice of late. But even the duties of CMO couldn't stave off the creeping lethargy in his mind and spirit. He leaned his forehead on his hand.

_Why did you leave me, kid? _McCoy whimpered mentally, his eyes stinging with yet more tears.

Scotty watched Leonard's hand stray to his collar – the public indication that he'd been claimed by an alpha. Montgomery Scott had always been grateful of his beta status … the idea of wearing something that marked you as 'belonging' to another seemed distasteful. But between Jim and Leonard there had been something more … looking at the doctor now, Scotty had the impression that he was gazing at a man torn in half. He walked over to Leonard when he realized that the omega wasn't touching the collar out of habit … he was actually trying to take it off.

"Len … what are you doing?" Scotty asked, distressed.

"Taking this fucking thing off … obviously don't need it anymore," McCoy snapped.

Scotty pulled McCoy's hands down. There was no resistance. "I know you don't want to do that now … you're hurting is all."

Leonard's shoulders slumped. He sighed heavily. "God, Scotty … it's like a goddamn nightmare and I'm never going to wake up."

"You're not alone, Len. We're all going to miss the lad," Scotty replied softly.

McCoy looked up and his expression was shattered but he nodded. He opened his mouth to say something else when his attention was drawn to a sound. Surrounded by broken glass and scattered instruments, the tribble he'd injected earlier with Khan's platelets was cooing softly. Leonard stared in disbelief at the furry little creature. A monitor began to beep and he looked up, barely daring to hope. The data made his heart pound. Turning around, he barked, "Get me a cryo tube _now!"_

_I swear to all that's holy, kid … you and your goddamn fucking no-win situation better come through now,_ McCoy thought darkly.

As the cryo tube containing one of Khan's crew was placed on the bed beside Jim, Leonard forgot his grief and fell into complete 'doctor' mode. He issued orders to his staff while his brain whirred with procedures and what he was going to need to try the Hail Mary he had in mind.

"Get this guy _out_ of the cryo tube," McCoy said, indicating Khan's man. "Be damn sure to keep him in an induced coma … we're gonna put Kirk in. It's the only chance to preserve his brain functions."

Carol, limping on her cast-encased leg, looked at Leonard. "How much of Khan's blood is left?"

McCoy stuttered to a stop. "None." He raced for the console. "_Enterprise _to Spock! Spock!"

_Answer me …. Answer me … _Leonard frowned and then it occurred to him … Spock wanted Khan dead as much as McCoy did. He'd been lost in his sorrow but he'd still heard Spock's scream. Vulcans were peaceful and logical _now_, but once upon a time, they'd been a violent people. And Leonard had seen Spock's temper – he could only imagine how devastating his grief-driven rage would be.

"Activate the cryogenic sequence," McCoy ordered Carol Marcus. He glanced down at his mate's face as the frost began to form on the interior of the tube.

_You won't let me come to you, Jim … so I'm bringing you back to me,_ Leonard thought. He placed his palm briefly on the tube before running back to the comm panel.

"McCoy to bridge, I can't reach Spock! I need Khan _alive_. You get that son of a bitch back on board _right now_!" McCoy took a deep breath and ran his fingers over his collar. "I think he can save Kirk."

* * *

Leonard looked up when Spock and Uhura coalesced in his sickbay with Khan at their feet. Uhura had smiled at him in her lovely, gentle way. Spock, looking a great deal the worse for wear, cleared his throat and said blandly, "Khan Noonen Singh, doctor … as requested."

McCoy had swallowed every smart-assed response that bubbled up in that instant – and there were several. Instead, he schooled his features into something resembling a blank expression and replied as unemotionally as he could, "Thank you for your assistance in this matter, Mr. Spock. I greatly appreciate your extraordinary effort."

The Vulcan's eyebrow disappeared into his hairline, he arched it so high. He suddenly understood why his occasional shifts in expected behavior left the doctor uneasy. Spock did not ponder it overlong … he simply nodded and limped to a nearby biobed to have his own injuries attended. McCoy turned away and ordered Khan brought to a bed. He had double restraints put in place and he administered a paralytic to keep his limbs still … just in case. Khan regained consciousness as Leonard finished drawing the blood he would need to replicate Khan's platelets. He looked at McCoy and smiled.

"Ah, the gentle doctor," Khan said softly.

Leonard met the man's eyes but did not respond. He handed the vials to Carol Marcus to begin separating the plasma.

"We both know I had to act according to my nature, doctor," Khan explained. "Your captain knew I would do whatever was necessary to protect my family."

McCoy inhaled deeply and glared at Khan. "My mate is the only reason _your_ family is alive – if he was, oh I don't know, like _you, _he would have fired those torpedoes at Qo'noS without a second thought and been done with you."

Khan's eyes widened - he looked confused and hopeful at the same time. Leonard frowned and then he realized … Khan thought his crew was dead.

"That's right, you arrogant fuck ... Spock played you. Good thing Vulcans believe in the preservation of life ... or else my medical bay wouldn't have seventy-two frozen supermen safely resting in it," McCoy said.

Khan regarded the omega steadily. His eyes drifted down to the restraints and his inability to move arms or legs. "You have me at a disadvantage, Doctor. Perhaps you are considering taking your vengeance?"

McCoy frowned. "I didn't have to let you wake up at all, Khan. Jim wanted you to answer for what you did and by God, I want that too." Leonard swallowed hard, struggling to keep his emotions in check. "You took my mate – you took _everything _from me. And not just me - you and Marcus ended so many innocent lives between you ... he got his but give me one good reason I should let you live. Because yeah, right now all I want to do is fucking rip your throat out."

"_That_ is why you will not, McCoy. Your pain allows you to understand exactly _why_ I committed the acts I did ... to save those I love from men like Alexander Marcus," Khan said simply. "Tell me, doctor – if you had known how things would end for your captain, what would you have done?"

McCoy looked down at the man and did not answer. The rational side of his mind would never consider slaughtering thousands for the sake of one man. The other side ... the side that could not bear life without its alpha ... Leonard did not want to consider what that part of him was capable of in defense of his mate. He reached for a hypo and injected Khan with the paralytic's counter and released the restraints. Khan sat up slowly, rubbing feeling back into his arms.

"Are we not being overly trusting, Doctor?"

"Perhaps. I don't forgive you for what you did – I never will ... but you're right. I do understand the motivation behind it." McCoy said. He looked Khan directly in the eyes. "Don't confuse my empathy with weakness, Khan. You can kill me, but I promise you I won't make it easy and I _will_ take you with me. After all, who better than a _gentle doctor_ to know exactly how to end a life?"

Khan closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them again. "When I said that you would want for nothing as my omega, I did not lie. I had a mate once – a normal, non-augmented human woman - an omega, like you. She was weaker than the women of my kind, but oh so beautiful. Intelligent and brave – defiant to the end. She believed in our cause with all her heart because she loved me. When we were forced into exile, she was killed. You remind me of her a great deal, Doctor McCoy."

With that, Khan's hand snapped out and fisted in Leonard's shirt, pulling him against the alpha. The kiss was devouring, insistent, and more sensual than any kiss Leonard had experienced up until that point in his life. It should have been enough to drive the doctor to his knees in willing submission. Instead, he felt nothing but a low burn of anger. McCoy pulled back slowly, cleared his throat and regarded the amused alpha with a deep scowl. Then his fist slammed out into Khan's jaw, rocking the alpha back where he sat and successfully splitting his lower lip. Leaning in, Leonard growled, "Not even if you were the last fucking alpha in the universe, Khan."

Khan met McCoy's eyes and chuckled ruefully as he thumbed blood from the already healing tear. His expression shifted to something Leonard didn't recognize at first, and then he realized it was defeat. "Let me go back into suspension - I do not belong in this time, perhaps not in _any _time." Khan looked toward Jim's cryo tube and then back to the doctor with something like regret. "At the very least, I will have new fodder for my dreams while I sleep – you are quite the beguiling omega, Doctor McCoy."

Leonard snorted. "Glad I could help." His face became serious. "Are you sure you want to go back into cryo? I doubt Starfleet will be inclined to ever let you wake up."

"I wish to be with my family, doctor. And Starfleet will not exist forever … perhaps the next time we awaken, the universe will need us again."

For once, McCoy did not feel wrong about giving Khan what he wanted.

* * *

Jim heard voices … faint echoes of his life … his mother and father on the day he was born … Pike in the bar … Bones saying 'yes' … then he was awake. He looked around confused and he registered an alarm from somewhere.

McCoy's heart was in a vise of some sort. It was the only explanation for the pressure in his chest. Looking at the brilliant blue eyes Leonard thought he would never see again, all he wanted to do was pull his mate into his arms and never let go. Instead, he forced his features into a calm façade and looked down at Jim while running he scanner down his torso.

"Oh don't be so melodramatic. You were _barely_ dead." Leonard glanced at a readout to gather himself. "It was the transfusion that really took its toll. You were out cold for two weeks."

"Transfusion?" Jim asked weakly.

"Your cells were heavily irradiated. We had no choice." Bones made a quick entry on Jim's chart. He didn't think he'd heard anything sweeter than his mate's voice, even as harsh from disuse as it was.

"Khan?"

"Once we caught him, I synthesized a serum from his super blood," Leonard explained. He looked over at Jim with a faint smile. "Tell me, are you feeling homicidal? Power mad? Despotic?"

"No more than usual," Jim said softly. "How'd you catch him?"

"I didn't," Leonard said. He moved away to allow another face to appear. Spock.

"You saved my life," Jim said to the Vulcan.

"Uhura and I had something to do with it too, you know," Leonard groused from the other side of the bed. Jim huffed a laugh.

"You saved my life, Captain. And the lives …" Spock began.

Jim sighed. "Spock … just — thank you."

"You are welcome, Jim."

* * *

Later that evening, after a battery of tests that left Jim exhausted, he looked idly around the room. He saw a small go-bag open with clothes. From the angle of his bed, he could just see the bathroom sink. A toothbrush and what looked like a comb sat on the edge. He frowned when his mate entered and began changing into his sleep pants and a t-shirt.

"Bones ... are you staying _here_?"

"Where else would I be, kid?" Leonard replied. He enjoyed the flutter in his stomach at hearing the familiar nickname again.

"Bones ..." Jim protested softly.

"What? I was supposed to go stay in a plush hotel room while you languished here alone?" McCoy retorted. "I've got a camp bed, pillow and a blanket. I've been just fine for the past few weeks."

Jim chuckled. "I don't think I _languished_, Bones. I was unconscious." The look on Leonard's face stopped his laughter. "Bones?"

Leonard stood looking down at his feet facing away from Jim. He clenched his hands into fists. He spoke to the far wall instead of looking at his mate. "You _died_, Jim. You died and there wasn't a goddamn thing I could do about it."

"Bones, I'm so-"

Jim never finished his sentence because quite suddenly he had an armful of McCoy. His mate had climbed onto the bed and was straddling him, holding his weight off Jim. Leaning down, Leonard kissed Jim deeply. He felt a swell of tenderness flood over him and wished Jim was strong enough for more – but that could wait.

Jim raised his hand and cupped the back of Leonard's neck. His fingers moved over the collar eliciting a shiver from his mate. Jim smiled and looked into hazel eyes to see himself reflected back.

"Missed you, kid. Try not to do that again," Bones said softly.

"I'll do my best, Bones. It was lonely without you."

Leonard pressed another soft kiss to Jim's mouth before getting ready for bed. When he came back, he eased Jim over and slid in beside him, spooning behind his mate and supporting his weight. If Jim noticed a soft hitching of Leonard's chest that sounded suspiciously like crying, he didn't say anything. He simply laced his fingers into the hand pressed against his torso and leaned into the curve of his mate's body. When he felt McCoy relax, Jim stayed awake to listen to his breathing. He smiled in the darkness and finally managed to sleep.


	14. Epilogue

**A/N: **I never dreamed what a positive response I would receive to this story. Thank you to everyone who stuck it out with me. A little sex and a lotta love in this chapter.

* * *

_**Three Weeks Later . . . **_

Jim entered their new apartment following his early morning run. He toed off his shoes and went to the bedroom where he'd left his growling mate sleeping.

The minute he got close to the door, Jim froze. He inhaled deeply and felt himself grow hard. Jim tasted the familiar warm scent of his mate. It was like smooth whiskey and a fine cigar — but now with something else sweet just beneath it … mint. The mint undertone only appeared at one specific time … when Bones was in heat. He growled in appreciation and the mound on the bed shivered in response. Pulling off the rest of his clothes, Jim slid under the comforter behind his mate's curled form, spooning against the feverish heat of the omega's body. He pressed a kiss against Bones' shoulder and tightened his grip when his mate tried to move away.

"J-jim?"

Jim nipped at the shoulder again, rumbling his affirmation in a low growl. Leonard couldn't stop the groan that pushed its way past his lips. Jim smiled. He eased his body to McCoy's a little more snugly. Then he felt it – faint tremors rippling through his mate's body.

Jim frowned. "Bones ... ?"

The body in Jim's arms continued to shake and then Jim realized that his mate was crying. Not just crying – sobbing. Pulling gently on his shoulders, Jim coaxed Leonard into turning over. The omega immediately buried his face against Jim's chest and the alpha felt the pained hitches of breath and the dampness of tears held back too long.

Jim held Bones, running his hands up and down his mate's spine and making soft soothing noises, his own eyes wet and stinging. He kissed the mussed hair and nuzzled it gently.

"It's ok, Bones ... I'm here ... let it out."

By nature, Leonard McCoy carefully hid fear, pain, grief behind a stolid wall of duty and general grouchiness. Trusted friends like the command crew might bear witness to a weak moment when Leonard let something slip, but only Jim had ever seen this McCoy. He felt a surge of tenderness and protectiveness. These moments belonged to Jim and Jim alone ... his omega would never reveal this much of himself to anyone. Uhura's description of McCoy's grief following his death had been typical of his mate – a flare of anguish, then obstinate refusal to display any further weakness. While he hated that he'd been the reason for his mate's pain, Jim felt an irrational sense of pride that Bones had forced his pain down and carried on with his duty. Jim knew his command to the omega had nothing to do with that – it was no surprise that McCoy did not shirk his responsibilities to others even when overwhelmed with a pain too great to bear. That, too, was his nature.

Now, in Jim's strong embrace that comforted but didn't restrain, McCoy released everything he'd pushed into the deepest recesses of his soul – all the aching grief that had been in him since he'd escorted his mate's lifeless body through the _Enterprise_. All the tears and soft sounds of despair finally escaped him to vibrate against Jim's skin. The alpha accepted it willingly and just held Bones. When it began subside, Leonard looked up at his mate. Jim's eyes shimmered with tears of his own.

"I'm so sorry, Bones," Jim whispered. "I never meant to do this to you."

Leonard sniffed and wiped at his face. He shook his head. "You – you _had _to d-do it, Jim. I know – god, how I _know _that. I just - " The tears began falling again and he instinctively took shelter in the crook of Jim's neck but then raised his head again to wail, "You _left _me! You left me_ alone_!"

Jim pulled McCoy against him tightly, his own tears beginning to slide down his face. "I know ... I know I did. Oh Bones ... I know I did."

It was all either of them could say. Jim couldn't apologize enough because he knew he'd do it again, given the choice. Leonard couldn't berate the man he loved for the act – he knew Jim would always sacrifice himself, would always put himself in danger, would always flirt with death to save those he loved and held dear. In the release of his absolute terror at being left behind, Leonard began to find a semblance of calm. Jim kissed his forehead softly and then his eyelids. The omega relaxed gradually and the tears stopped along with the shaking. The storm past, McCoy's heat was beginning to reassert itself.

Opening his eyes, Leonard looked into the cerulean gaze he loved. It was darkening with arousal and he felt his body beginning to respond – to prepare itself for the alpha holding him. Bones shivered again but not with grief – no, the fire growing in him was burning away the emotional pain and leaving only molten desire behind. He knew that he was shortly not going to care about anything other than having Jim inside him, pounding him into the mattress. He didn't care ... he was safe with Jim. His alpha would take care of him.

In his heat, McCoy was compliant and submissive. The normally independent omega became completely reliant on Jim. He obeyed without question and shuddered in pleasure whenever Jim praised him for anything. It wasn't something that he'd ever enjoyed. Of course Leonard knew the biological reason for his heats – he was a doctor after all. He knew exactly what the brain chemicals were that forced him into the extreme state of need … but knowing the scientific basis for the event didn't quell the deep dislike he had for being so completely out of control. He'd always dealt with his heats sans alpha if possible. Even Jocelyn, who he'd loved so fiercely at one time, had never been able to assuage his embarrassment. He'd been prepared to experience the same thing with Jim regardless of how much he loved the man.

Then came his first heat with Jim and it had been a revelation. It had been different from anything he'd ever known. With Jim, there was no shame. He wasn't left feeling weak and pathetic. Instead, he felt free to let the part of himself show that no one else knew or would ever know. He felt safe. He didn't shy from the desire coded into his very DNA that drove him to let himself be taken by his alpha – instead he gave into it and found lust and need and, above all, love.

"I'm here, Bones. I'm here … and you smell so ... _good_," Jim said huskily.

Leonard's breathing quickened at the sound of his alpha's voice ... every sense was heightened and his world was narrowing to be Jim and _only_ Jim. Pulling his lover over him, the omega willingly spread his legs for him. Jim growled and looked down into Bones' hazel eyes. Blown wide with lust, Leonard's eyes tracked Jim's every movement. Jim leaned in to close his teeth on the claiming scar on his mate's chest. He did not break skin but enjoyed the resultant moan.

"Yes ... Jim ... yes ... please ..."

They were both past foreplay … Bones' heat was beginning to trigger Jim's alpha rut response. He was feeling his control fading ... all he would want soon would be to fuck the omega until they were both sated. Jim pressed himself against Leonard's entrance and when his omega's body arched upward Jim was lost. He snarled and flipped Bones' on his stomach. His mate immediately presented like a good omega which only drove Jim farther into his lust-driven haze. Leonard pressed back and let out a high-pitched whine when Jim grabbed his hips and drove himself inside to the hilt. He gasped and let his head fall forward as Jim caught the nape of his neck in his teeth.

"Mine," Jim growled.

"...yours ..." Bones whimpered. He trembled. "... please ... _alpha_ ..."

Jim's eyes were electric blue. He pulled McCoy's head back by his hair. Breath hot against his mate's ear, he demanded, "Say it ... who do you belong to?"

Leonard groaned. He was confused. His alpha _knew_ who he belonged to ... he answered anyway because he couldn't do anything else.

"_You ... _alpha ... only you ... " Bones whimpered.

Jim bit his omega's earlobe, enjoying the faint cry of pain that dissolved rapidly into a moan. He began to piston into his mate's body and snarled when Leonard's muscles clamped down on him. "You feel ... so good ... Bones ... so good ..."

Leonard would have come if Jim hadn't reached around and gripped him hard. He whined, bucking his hips in desperation to reach orgasm.

"Not yet, omega ..." Jim said, his voice low and demanding.

Bones stopped struggling and simply let his body take the punishing pace Jim set. His brain was all white noise except for Jim's voice ... every sound his alpha made triggered Leonard's brain to release more and more of the chemical cocktail that made him want to submit. He had no will of his own, no thoughts, no needs other than that of his mate – he was a good omega.

Finally, the breathing shifted behind him and Jim released Leonard's cock. The omega moved in time with his mate, taking his cues from Jim's movements. All he knew was Jim and Jim was everything. He was alpha and mate and nothing else in the entire universe mattered. They came together with twin cries of release.

Jim continued to move lazily inside Bones, coming down slowly. It wasn't often spoken of, but the alpha drive to rut entailed more than just blind instinct to dominate – Jim's pleasure was driven to unbelievable heights when his body _knew_ that the omega writhing beneath him was being pleased. Every moan, every sigh and whine drove Jim's physiology to reward the alpha with a high unlike any drug. He _had_ to please his omega ... he _had _to take care of his mate's needs and prove himself a worthy sire of any pups they might have someday. When Bones responded to his touch, Jim thought he might go mad from the flare of ecstasy that erased all thought and reduced him to ash with its fire.

Finally, Jim relaxed and withdrew. He kissed Bones long and slow, tasting every part of his mate's lips and mouth. He pulled back, tugging Leonard's bottom lip out between his teeth. He smiled down at his omega then kissed along his jawline and growled when Bones arched his neck, exposing his throat to Jim. Laving his tongue over the windpipe, Jim thrilled at the feel of the collar's cool metal. He felt McCoy sigh beneath him.

He rolled to one side and pulled Bones against him. They slept.

* * *

An omega heat had no definite length. Many variables could affect how long or short it was – since the massive dose of suppressants had worked its way out of McCoy's system, his body apparently decided to make up for even that short denial of nature. The flares came quickly, each on the heels of the previous one. Jim was exhausted but happier than he'd been in a long time. He was the consummate alpha ... he helped his mate bathe and changed the bedding while Leonard soaked in the deep tub. He made sure Bones drank plenty of water and gave him hypos of nutrients to supplement what little food Jim could get the omega to eat. And so it went for three days.

Finally, on the fourth day, Bones had a little reprieve from the driving need of his heat. Jim helped him into the shower and they lazily washed while giving one another hand jobs. Jim finished helping Bones clean up, then he got out, letting the omega stand under the hot water a bit longer. Heats often left McCoy sore and worse than grumpy. Jim changed the sheets again and ordered takeout. He collected the food which he instructed be left in the hall and put it on the kitchen back into the bedroom, he saw Bones lying back on the bed, more than ready for his alpha but in control of his desire. Jim lay down beside his mate and met his eyes, fingertips brushing over the brow that could express so much in a single frown or an arched eyebrow. Leonard smiled back, his eyes starting to cloud with arousal.

Before Bones lost control, Jim met his eyes and whispered, "I want you to be my omega."

Bones frowned in confusion. He already was … wasn't he? Jim chuckled. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to Bones' lips. "I _died_, Bones. You don't belong to me anymore."

Jim smiled as the frown he loved deepened. Leonard surged forward and kissed Jim savagely, wrapping his legs around the alpha. His expression was stern. "Don't give a fuck if you die twelve times over ... I'll never belong to another alpha. _Never."_

Jim growled his appreciation of the sentiment but pulled back to regard the omega. "Still haven't answered me, Bones ... will you be my omega?"

"_Yes_," Bones breathed against his mate's lips. "A thousand times, _yes_."

It wasn't often an omega was double-claimed … by the same alpha at least. But by the next morning, another scar overlapped the first and Bones was fine with that. He was also fine with the new collar Jim locked on his neck the first morning after his heat abated. It was gunmetal gray and thinner than the first. What really moved him and made him turn away to regard the far wall was the matching ring Jim now wore on one hand. The ring that said he belonged to Bones and no one else.

* * *

_**One Year Later . . . **_

Doctor Leonard McCoy allowed a faint smile to tug at his lips. His mate, striking in his dress grays, was giving the keynote speech at the rechristening of the _Enterprise_. Bones watched the movement of lips and body with clinical and not-so-clinical interest. Jim hated the descriptive but Leonard couldn't find a word that fit other than _beautiful_. His mate was handsome and dashing but more than that ... he was _beautiful_. Here, in his element, he was practically resplendent. Jim Kirk was meant for this world ... meant for the black and all its dangers. Leonard also knew that _he_ was meant to be at Jim's side no matter where his mate led them.

McCoy sat next to fellow omega and _Enterprise_ navigator, Pavel Andreievich Chekov. The young man was fairly beaming as he held his chin high, unconsciously showing off the new collar residing on his neck. Hikaru Sulu sat on Chekov's other side with a pleased smile ghosting his mouth. Leonard rolled his eyes – he hoped he hadn't been quite that sappy about his mating with Jim. Unfortunately, he was pretty sure he'd been just as ridiculous, wearing shirts off-duty that displayed the collar prominently and spiking every time Jim walked into a room. He hadn't been much better the second time around – and Jim wasn't shy about making sure everyone saw his matching ring. Wasn't love just fucking grand?

His alpha's voice shifted and Bones' attention was drawn back to the podium.

Jim spoke firmly and confidently but every word was for his mate alone. He didn't care what any of the brass on the podium with him thought ... he was in love and Bones made him a better captain, a better _person_.

"There will always be those who mean to do us harm. To stop them, we risk awakening the same evil in ourselves. Our first instinct is to seek revenge when those we love are taken from us," Jim found Bones' eyes in the crowd. "But that's not who we are ... we are here today to rechristen the _U.S.S. Enterprise, _and to honor those who lost their lives nearly one year ago." Jim took a deep breath before continuing. "When Christopher Pike first gave me his ship, he had me recite the Captain's Oath, words I didn't appreciate at the time. Now I see them as a call to remember who we once were and who we must be again. And those words?" Bones took a deep breath of his own as Jim began the recitation. It never failed to give him chills, nor give him a rush of love and pride toward his mate. "Space ... the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship, _Enterprise. _Her five year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before."

* * *

Leonard sighed, staring out at the star field displayed through the view screen. He wondered sometimes at his own sanity for accepting his mate's collar ... especially when that mate was Captain James T. Kirk. The door to the bridge hissed open and Jim stood for a moment, regarding his crew. He glanced over at Doctor Carol Marcus who sat at one of the science officer stations. He smiled broadly.

"Dr. Marcus. I'm glad you could be a part of the family," Jim said.

The beta returned the smile. "It's nice to have a family."

Jim gave her a gentle grin and walked over to his chair. Sulu stood quickly.

"It's hard to get out of it once you've had a taste, isn't that right, Mr. Sulu?" Jim said knowingly.

Sulu smiled. "'Captain' does have a nice ring to it. Chair's all yours, sir."

Sulu resumed his normal position with a warm glance at his mate beside him. He looked over his shoulder at McCoy who returned the look with a nod. Jim pressed the comm button.

"Mr. Scott. How's our core?"

"Purring like a kitten, Captain. She's ready for a long journey."

"Excellent," Jim said. "Spock!"

"Captain," Spock replied coming to stand beside Jim.

"Where shall we go?"

"As a mission of this duration has never been attempted, I defer to your good judgment, Captain." Spock met Jim's eyes and the captain could have sworn he saw amusement before the Vulcan returned to his post.

Zeroing in on the one person he cared most about being with him as they 'set sail' so to speak, Jim found Bones standing off to one side as usual. His mouth twitched in a grin as he took in his mate standing ramrod straight with his arms tightly crossed. Jim walked over and clapped the omega on the shoulders. "Come on, Bones! It's gonna be fun!"

Bones regarded his mate with a fond, slightly annoyed expression. "Five years in space," he growled. "God help me."

"Yes," Jim agreed, one hand brushing over his mate's collar and smiling at the resultant shiver. He met McCoy's eyes. "But it's five years in space with _you, _Bones _... _I couldn't ask for anything more." Walking back to his chair, he easily sat down and took a deep breath.

"Take us out, Mr. Sulu," Jim ordered. He looked over at his mate as the ship went to warp and his smile was blinding when the omega mouthed _Buckle up._ James T. Kirk was the happiest alpha on the ship.


End file.
